Ritchie Made Presence Felt in Win Over Dallas

BOSTON - Nick Ritchie is quickly gaining a Black & Gold education.
During his nearly 13 minutes in ice time on Thursday night, the 24-year-old winger took shifts with three of Boston's four lines. As coach Bruce Cassidy tries to find the right fit for Ritchie and fellow new winger Ondrej Kase, Boston's lineup is likely to be a bit in flux for the time being.
But in Boston's 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars, Ritchie seemed unfazed by the line jumbling, as he potted his first goal in Black & Gold, while also adding a nifty assist on David Pastrnak's third-period winner.

"It was nice to score, nice to win. It was a good night tonight," said Ritchie, who started the night with Kase and David Krejci. "Energy levels were a little higher and felt better on my legs. Definitely played a better game and the team played better as well."

Overall, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Ontario native finished with three hits, two blocked shots, and his first two Bruins points in 12:59 of ice time.
"I think Nick was much better than the other night, a little more into the game," said Cassidy. "Puck was finding him…he's had a couple of days to acclimate a little bit. Listen, I'm not going to say he's going to get two points every night, but he'll probably be somewhere in between there and that's what we expect out of him.
"A bigger body, especially in this type of game, I thought. They're a heavy team, they finish checks and you've got to work to get to the net. And I thought he did a real good job with that."
Ritchie potted his first goal with the Bruins in the closing minutes of the second period, giving Boston two tallies in a span of 1:17 to open up a 3-1 lead. The former first-round pick collected a loose puck in the high slot after some strong work from Chris Wagner and Zdeno Chara and unleashed a wrister that bounced by Stars goalie Ben Bishop.
"It felt really good," said Ritchie. "Just a simple shot and whenever you see it go in it feels good."

Ritchie's best play of the night came in the third when he played give and go with Pastrnak, delivering a perfect feed across the crease to Boston's leading scorer, who buried his 46th of the season to put Boston ahead, 4-2.
"He was calling for it and he had the speed, too," said Ritchie. "So, I figured he would be driving the back post and I put it over there and he was right there."

Wagner Banged Up

Chris Wagner left Thursday night's win over Dallas with an upper-body injury, suffered when he tangled with Stars' forward Mattias Janmark late in the second period. After Janmark delivered a forceful cross check on Krejci in front of the Dallas net, Wagner responded by wrapping up Janmark and tackling him to the ice.
Wagner was penalized with a roughing minor and did not come back to serve his penalty when the third period began. He did not practice on Friday afternoon and will not travel with the team to Long Island for Saturday's matinee against the Islanders.
"Hopefully he gets back on the ice [on Saturday in Boston] if he's feeling better," said Cassidy. "If that's the case, then Tuesday will be a good look for him. But we'll know more [on Saturday]."

Finding A Fit

With Wagner out of the lineup, Karson Kuhlman will sub in and play alongside Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk, while either Joakim Nordstrom or Anders Bjork will shift to the right wing to play with Sean Kuraly and Par Lindholm.
With some stiff competition at wing following the acquisitions of Ritchie and Kase, Bjork could find himself as the odd-man out against the Islanders after playing just 12:24 in the B's win over Dallas.
"With Anders, last night was a great example of what he'll be up against if we make the playoffs, we have some success - he's gonna see that type of hockey," said Cassidy. "It was a bit of a learning curve for him…Kuhly's been through it, Jake's been through it, so they have some experience with it…we'd like Anders to grow his game and be able to play in those types of environments."
At times in recent weeks, Cassidy has also shifted Kuraly to the wing, creating even more of a numbers game as the 27-year-old has found some success in that role on lines with both Coyle and Lindholm.
"Seems to be on the puck a little bit more, can make a few more plays to be able to chase down pucks," said Cassidy. "I think when you're a centerman, you're always worried about getting behind their goal line and having to go 180 feet the other way…but still, as a centerman, he's made plays before."

Opposing View

The Islanders loaded up at the trade deadline, adding former Devils captain Andy Greene to shore up the blue line, as well as center J.G. Pageau from the Ottawa Senators to strengthen their depth down the middle of the ice. Pageau, who signed a six-year extension following the trade, scored in his debut on Thursday night, a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Louis.
The Isles have dropped two straight in overtime, but remain in the top Wild Card spot in the East with 78 points, just clear of Columbus (76), Carolina (74), and the New York Rangers (74).
They are paced up front by Mathew Barzal (18-38-56) and Brock Nelson (23-27-50).
"I think they're a very good team," said Torey Krug. "I think when we play them it's typically a low-scoring game, testing each other's patience typically. It's a lot of fun. I think they're a good matchup for us."

Friday's Practice Lineup

FORWARDS

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Nick Ritchie - David Krejci - Ondrej Kase
Jake DeBrusk - Charlie Coyle - Karson Kuhlman
Sean Kuraly - Par Lindholm - Joakim Nordstrom/Anders Bjork
Anton Blidh
DEFENSEMEN
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk - Jeremy Lauzon
John Moore - Connor Clifton
GOALIES
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak