Kalman: Bruins Win First Game And Soderberg Trade In One Night
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins won the Carl Soderberg trade Wednesday.
They also won a game, their first of the season, 6-2 on the road against the Colorado Avalanche.
You remember Carl Soderberg, the golden-haired Swede who showed up in Boston just in time to get in a couple of games in the 2013 Stanley Cup finals. Then he became a cult hero as the Bruins' third-line center whose best magic trick was turning into the Invisible Man when cast in a second-line role for a couple of seasons. Oh, and he used to run that sweet backdoor play with Reilly Smith on the power play.
Well once it became apparent Soderberg's next contract as an unrestricted free agent was going to be too rich for the Bruins' precarious salary-cap situation, general manager Don Sweeney shipped him to the Avalanche for a sixth-round draft pick in 2016 over the summer. Sweeney's thinking was that he could save money and maybe even improve the third line by giving Soderberg's job to Ryan Spooner.
Through the Bruins' 0-3-0 start, that decision couldn't have looked worse with Spooner and his linemates producing nothing but goose eggs and Masters-worthy plus/minus ratings. Things changed, though, Wednesday in the Bruins' first game against Soderberg since the summertime trade.
The Bruins neither received nor needed any offensive contributions from their top two lines in their rout of the Avalanche because Spooner's line almost did it all. Spooner had one goal and one assist, Jimmy Hayes (the Bruins obviously won the Smith trade as well) had one goal and three assists and Kelly had one goal for Boston.
With the Bruins already leading 1-0 on an unexpected goal from defenseman Kevan Miller, Hayes got started on his career-best-points night by doing what he's expected to do – go to the net. Hayes cashed in on a rebound of a Zdeno Chara shot for a 2-0 lead early in the first period.
Forward Tyler Randell of the fourth line wasn't left out of the night of unpredictable goal scorers by giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead in his NHL debut and then the Bruins' fourth goal was a perfect example of how Boston's third line is supposed to operate.
First Spooner used his speed to cancel out an icing. Then after a regroup, Hayes stole a breakout pass at the blue line, gained the zone and dished the puck to Spooner. Then Spooner used his vision to find a streaking Kelly for a backhand goal from in front of the Colorado goal.
Spooner added his goal from in tight after a heavy forecheck and takeaway by Hayes.
Meanwhile, that Soderberg guy and his linemates were in the dump. Soderberg was minus-4 with no points. His wings Mikko Rantanen and Borna Rendulic combined for a minus-5 with no points. Guess $4.75 million (Soderberg's haul for this season and four more) doesn't buy what it used to.
For one night at least, the Bruins' third line was operating the way coach Claude Julien envisioned. When the Bruins have been at their best under Julien, the third line has been a source of a little speed, a little grit and a little responsibility. Usually it's involved Kelly in some capacity, and he's now played on that line for two games because the injury to Brad Marchand bumped Brett Connolly up to Patrice Bergeron's line.
Julien could be in a quandary with Marchand nearing a return from his concussion. If Marchand plugs right back onto a line with Bergeron and Loui Eriksson, does Julien shift Connolly and Kelly back down to their spots from the start of the season? Or does he do something bold, like scratch Connolly, Randell or Zac Rinaldo? Or he could stick Connolly on the fourth line.
These are all problems that Julien likes to have, especially now that the Bruins are winners. And it's something the coach won't have to deal with until Marchand is fully cleared.
For now, Julien, Sweeney and the Bruins can revel in their first on-ice victory and their early lead in the Soderberg trade standings. They still have one more game this season with Colorado and then that sixth round pick to make in June.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.