Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said his message to the line was to simplify by not hesitating to get pucks to the net. He pointed to the work of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak over the last two games as the perfect model.
"I think they're turning down too any opportunities to throw stuff at the net and see what happens," said Cassidy. "Good example is the last two goals that Bergeron's line scored [against Ottawa] - Bergy throws one at the net, but there's net drive and there's Marchy in the high slot and it rattles off [Cody] Ceci and it goes in. The next goal it's Pasta driving the net, gets there, it's a tap-in; March again has inside position in the slot. It's about getting back to basics. It's about generating shots to create anxiety."
Those basics, however, may have to come with a new look.
During Wednesday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Joakim Nordstrom took turns rotating with Donato as Krejci's right wing. And following the session, Cassidy indicated that it's likely he inserts Nordstrom back into the lineup after one game as a healthy scratch.
"Until we get ourselves firmly where we believe it's lines one through four, we're going to probably move people around and keep it competitive," said Cassidy. "Pretty good chance Nordy will go in [Thursday]. If he has to play on that line that's fine, he's been in skill positions in the past. He'll have a good responsible player there.
"It may be Ryan that comes out. Part of that is just understanding the details of the game every night. We've done that with every young player last year, so that would be no different.
"If that's what we decide to do for a game or two…it's as much about keeping those guys competitive and letting other guys know it's not automatic every night."
