With the Black & Gold down two left wingers, including their leading scorer, there will be plenty of opportunity for others to step up in their stead. After sitting out as a healthy scratch on Thursday night, Oskar Steen is likely to draw back into the lineup, while Nick Foligno - who returned from injury against the Caps as the right wing alongside Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle - will look to pick up some of the slack on the left side.
"I think you saw [Thursday] night, when you lose a player like Brad Marchand - probably the best winger in the game right now, left wing especially…what he brings to our team not only as a player, but leadership wise -every guy wants to step up because of the way he steps up for us every night," said Foligno.
"We had some adversity in our game and found a way to get a big win. And I think that that shows the maturity and the cohesiveness of this group, too, and how much we believe in one another and want to help one another through things…Marchy was there cheering us on even though he wasn't feeling great. And then we were able to step up and get a big win for him and Bleeder."
DeBrusk, in particular, is likely to get a chance for a significant uptick in minutes with Marchand out of the lineup. The speedy winger bumped up to play with Patrice Bergeron and Craig Smith on Thursday night and notched the go-ahead goal midway through the third, before picking up the primary assist on Charlie McAvoy's winner in the closing seconds.
"[Thursday] night he took advantage of it and hopefully does again [vs. Winnipeg]," said Cassidy. "I think the mentality has to be, you can't be Brad Marchand; he plays in every situation, he's an elite player in this league. So just go and be the best version of yourself with those minutes. I think Jake did a good job with that [Thursday] night, and we'll certainly use him in that role."
DeBrusk has notched four points in seven games since Jan. 1, a stretch that also included a 10-day stint in COVID-19 protocol.
"Jake stepped up [Thursday] night, huge," said Foligno. "And I think it speaks a lot to his mindset and wanting to contribute help. After everything that was said about him earlier, he's shown that he's committed here as long as he's here. It's great to see and I think it's a great opportunity for him to play those minutes if that's where he gets put and for all of us to follow suit."
