Providence Defenders
Buy In
April 10, 2014
Thomas Chace Jr.
It took a while, but the Providence defenders have fully
bought into the Bruins system at the right time of the season. With just five games remaining, the Boston
Bruins AHL farm club is ready to make a serious run in the playoffs. The ability to defend as a team started in
training camp and is now bearing the fruits of the team believing in the
system.
Head Coach Bruce Cassidy explains, “That part of the game,
the guys are buying into it. As long as
we keep our transition and quick strike offense going and we’re a threat to
score and keep our PP working like it can, it makes us a pretty well-rounded
team.” Specifically, regarding the
defensive part of the Providence team, Cassidy says, “I like that we are
defending better, I really do, the guys are buying in.”
The difference between the defense in October and November
to where the team is now is quite apparent.
They have been involved in numerous low scoring games of late, with a
couple of blowout victories thrown in.
Balanced scoring has also been a great asset to the club this season as
well.
As always, good defense starts with goaltending. Boston has a plethora of solid netminders in
their system. The Bruins had enough of
them that they let Anton Khudobin go to the Carolina Hurricanes where he has
mostly thrived in his first NHL season. Providence
retained solid goaltending in Niklas Svedberg and first year pro Malcolm
Subban. Svedberg played most of the
games early and was let down many times by the young or new Providence
defense. Subban has improved his play in
the second half and at times has been outstanding. Cassidy says that, “They are competing
against one another on a regular basis now.
They are pushing each other now and it’s going to go down to the wire as
to who’s going to play at the end.”
Currently Providence sits in 6th place with just
five games to go in the regular season.
Albany, Hershey, and Norfolk are three to five points back. The Bruins have a big weekend coming up as
they play Albany, Norfolk, and 1st place Manchester over the course
of those three days. The Bruins are 10th
in points overall in the entire AHL.
Their home and away records are almost identical which again shows the
balance in their overall play. The
Bruins are 19-11-2-3 on home ice at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and sport a
19-12-0-5 on the road. They also lead
the league in overtime games with 23 games played and a record of 2-2-11-8 in
those games. Svedberg leads the AHL with
7 shootout wins to his credit. Rookie forward Seth Griffith is second in the
league in shootout goals with seven on the season thus far. Another rookie, Anthony Camara, leads the
team in game winning goals with five; three of those were in shootout wins.
Rookies have played a significant role in the Bruins season,
none more than Russian Alexander Khokhlachev.
Second among rookies in scoring with 56 points in 61 games, he, along
with line mates Justin Florek and Seth Griffith, has become a force on offense.
Providence presently has three 20 goal scorers in Khokhlachev, Griffith, and
Craig Cunningham. On the verge of
hitting 20 goals is Florek with 19, Matt Fraser with 18, and Nick Johnson with
17 tallies.
Providence, much like their big club in Boston, can play
whatever style the game takes on. If you
want to mix it up, you’ll have to deal with several willing combatants,
including Bobby Robins, Tyler Randell, and Captain Mike Moore. Robins is third in the league in fighting
majors with 25 and is the heart and soul of the team. Randell does not get many takers due to his
stamina and fierce punching power. Moore, as classy a player as you’ll meet,
has stood up numerous times for the more skilled Providence players.
The AHL playoffs are around the corner and Providence hasn’t
lost in regulation in the last six games. The team has bought into what Head Coach
Cassidy and Coach Kevin Dean have been selling all year and this bodes well as
they approach the AHL tournament.
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