Kalman: Beleskey Did Dirty Work To Make Sure Bruins' Recent Ugliness Ended
TORONTO (CBS) -- Down the road, when the Bruins are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders again, Matt Beleskey is going to make the perfect third liner.
Beleskey's physicality, determination, and leadership qualities, plus his ability to use his quick release to chip in with an occasional goal, make him suited for a complementary role on a championship-caliber team, and he showed those qualities during the Bruins' must-win 3-1 victory at Toronto on Saturday.
The race-to-the-bottom Maple Leafs, even with coach Mike Babcock convincing them to play their hardest with nothing to play for, hardly created a playoff atmosphere around the Bruins. But it didn't matter what was standing between the Bruins and two points because with a five-game losing streak at their backs and only seven games remaining in the season, the Bruins were essentially playing a playoff game Saturday. With Detroit losing earlier in the day, the Bruins had a chance to extend their lead for third place in the Atlantic Division with a win against the 30th-ranked team in the NHL.
Beleskey didn't do any of the glamorous stuff in the victory. Patrice Bergeron ended an eight-game goal drought, Zdeno Chara ended his own 20-game slump, and David Krejci had one goal and two assists. Tuukka Rask made 25 saves, including 10 during the first period, when the Bruins looked like a team ready to spoil the Maple Leafs' attempt to add to their lottery chances.
But when things started to get dicey, and the Maple Leafs really started to play with devil-may-care attitude and push for the game-tying goal, Beleskey came up big. Twice in one shift with around five minutes to go he hit the deck to make sure Jake Gardiner's shot attempts didn't get anywhere near Rask. Not only did the Maple Leafs get discouraged, the Bruins' bench erupted. The momentum Boston built from the start of the second period and continued all the way through the final horn didn't have a chance of getting interrupted because of Beleskey's sacrifice.
"That showed a lot of desperation there," coach Claude Julien told NESN after the game.
The Bruins won for just the seventh time this season when trailing after the first period. After they folded up their tents and lost a playoff spot down the stretch last season, they lamented some character issues that helped hasten their demise. With his offseason maneuvers, general manager Don Sweeney weakened the Bruins talent-wise for the present with an eye on a brighter future. Beleskey, who signed a five-year contract with a $3.8 million annual cap hit July 1, was one of the few additions to the Bruins with eye toward improving this year's team. Upon signing Beleskey, Sweeney complimented many of the player's assets but focused on Beleskey's 22 goals, which would certainly come in handy in the Bruins' attempt to exit the bottom third of the league in offense.
As this season wore on and Beleskey struggled to score, Julien lowered the bar for Beleskey's expectations. The coach continued to give Beleskey a regular shift among the top nine forwards because of the left wing's reckless work with his body and his fearlessness around the net. Julien's devotion to Beleskey has paid off. Beleskey's work ethic has rarely wavered and he's scored some key goals. His empty-net goal Saturday put Toronto away and ran his season's total to 14.
Although he was the most coveted free agent forward last summer, Beleskey settled for a surprisingly reasonable contract with the Bruins. It was a coup of sorts for Sweeney because the GM knew he had to improve the talent and character of his roster in order to execute his plan to stay competitive in the present before becoming elite in the near future.
Beleskey fit the bill for what the Bruins needed this year. And if Beleskey is still around in the second half of his contract and the second half of Sweeney's plan comes to fruition, the Bruins won't have to make the Chris Kelly- or Rich Peverley-type deals to acquire role players for a big postseason run because Beleskey will be a capable incumbent. He proved how many ways he can help a team in the crucial win against the Maple Leafs.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.