Practice Report: Fourth Line Taking Pride in Its Role Down the Stretch

BOSTON –– Marco Sturm did not know if it was the thrilling overtime assist or birthday wishes that had Mark Kastelic in a good mood on Wednesday morning at Warrior Ice Arena

The head coach was pleased either way. Kastelic, who is deployed for the opening faceoff in every OT for the Bruins, stayed on the ice a bit longer on Tuesday at TD Garden and helped set up Charlie McAvoy’s goal that secured the 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

“He’s been great. He played third line for me, he’s killing right now, he’s doing faceoffs,” Sturm said of Kastelic. "There’s more and more. And that’s why – because he has done more than I expected.”

​Sean Kuraly ensured there were cupcakes at the rink for Kastelic, who is celebrating his 27th birthday.

​“He’s been awesome. Just to play with him and [Tanner Jeannot], both big, heavy, strong, smart players,” Kuraly said. “Both can move and skate and shoot and do all the things that you want in a linemate. Not to mention great teammates.”

That trio has held strong for the majority of the season on the fourth line and has fed into Boston’s grinding, hard-to-play-against identity. They take pride in their assignments, which have become that much more important in the final 18 games of the regular season.

“For us, it’s a lot about our structure and sticking to things that we feel like we can control. I think you see us play better in these games where we’re sound defensively. The number one focus is keeping the puck out of our net,” Kuraly said. “We like to fall back on our structure, and just the basics. It is a group that just inherently works and inherently has a lot of hard-nosed players. We’ve balanced that really well with a lot of skill.”

Kastelic is in the midst of a career-high year. The forward has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) through 64 games; he had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) through 61 games last season, which was his previous best.

“Not trying to sell myself short in any area of my game and just being able to continue to work on things offensively and to get to an area I know I am capable of and have done in the past,” Kastelic said. “A lot of it just comes with confidence and time and putting in the extra work and getting extra touches. I try not to think about numbers specifically, but rather just little goals to get there.”

His defensive game has also been an asset to the Bruins. The same goes for Kuraly and Jeannot. All three players are part of the B’s penalty kill, which has gone 17-for-19 since returning from the Olympic break. It ranks second in the league during that span at 89.5%.

While it is not the most glamorous job in hockey, the PK has been a key piece to Boston’s success as of late.

“You just think about sometimes what the team needs or what you can do to stay in this league and play hockey,” Kuraly said. “Get minutes and get on the ice. Your goal as a player is to get on the ice and make an impact. If you find a way for that to be the way, then so be it.”  

The Bruins will next host the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden on Thursday for their last matchup on home ice before departing for a three-game road trip. Kuraly, who was a fifth-round pick of the Sharks in 2011 before landing in Boston, knows his group has a clear purpose right now – and they’re not done pushing.

“I think you’re getting to a point in the season where the end is in sight of the regular season,” Kuraly said. “It kind of gives you a little bit of extra juice, knowing that we’re close and we’re in a spot where we can accomplish our goal that we had coming into the season.”