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But seriously, last year I thought defense was going to be the chink in the armor that the Canes exposed. Clearly that was wrong. Unless the Canes can make the Bruins other 3 lines look like the Rangers other 3 lines, exploiting their defense is really the only hope. If I hadn't recently watched the Bruins summarily dismantle the Canes, I would see this series as being similar to the matchup with the Rangers -- great 1st line, PP, goaltending, but mediocre forward depth and not-great defense -- but the Bruins being stronger across all of those areas (and other things, like PK).
My brain is tainted from having recently watched The Last Dance, but I've seen Aho as having something of Jordan-like mental approach to the game (SUPER focused, holding grudges, wanting to prove people wrong). If you'll allow the Bruins to be the Pistons, I think this is the 1990 NBA Eastern Conference Final, and I'm ready for that great show.
I love the Bruins blueline as they looked in the regular season, but it's not what we saw at all in the round robin. If they all of a sudden rebound, this is what the Bruins D is:
McAvoy is an all-around beast. I think sometimes he lacks awareness in the defensive zone missing assignments and he doesn't have the best offensive instincts, but his ability to transition the puck up the ice and evade the opposition with the puck in his own zone is the best I've seen in Boston in I don't even know how long. He also has the perfect blend between physical play and an active defensive stick. To me, his game is almost identical to early-career Drew Doughty except without the offensive tools that Doughty had. He absolutely has to be at his best for the Bruins to be successful in this series considering the Canes create so much off the forecheck. So far though, he looks way off.
Chara still has that great reach that can make up for his lack of foot-speed a lot of times, but then again sometimes he'll just get burned. After all these years he's still excellent on the PK. The lack of foot-speed really is a detriment, but playing with McAvoy makes up for that a lot of times. If the puck gets dumped in and there's even a remote possibility of McAvoy switching sides to retrieve it, the Bruins do that every chance they get, and Chara will try to run the subtle interference.
Krug is a funny one. So many Bruins fans hate his defensive play. He puts a lot of effort in but he definitely lacks the tools to defend properly. He can get pushed around and has some abysmal defensive lapses. But to me he more than makes up for it with his offensive instincts. He just has an amazing knack for seeing plays develop, and to me he's always been the key to the Bruins PP. His decision making with the puck in the O-zone is lightning-quick and his passes are precise. He's just such a smart player though, here's an example of a pass that shows how he can think the game at a high level:
Carlo to me has looked really bad in the RTP, but when he's on he's excellent defensively. He's just so big and rangy, and is actually a surprisingly effective skater for his size.
Defensively, I think he's a bit of a poor-man's Colton Parayko. He's not physical at all, but that's fine to me. He legitimately has zero offensive upside, but he's OK in transition in a pinch. Krug handles the majority of that though. Apparently he put on a lot of "good weight" during the break, but he absolutely looks slower to me, and he's bobbling the puck a ton.
I think
Grzelcyk is easily the most underrated Bruin. He's undersized, but unlike Krug his defensive instincts are sound and he has a good stick to be involved defensively. Easily his biggest attribute is his transition play though. He's just so skilled at bringing the puck up the ice.
Lauzon doesn't have the most experience, but in the brief time he's been in Boston I think he has really good defensive instincts, and mixes in physical play with a good defensive stick. It puts two lefties on the 3rd pair when he's in though.
Clifton is the other D-man Bruins used a lot last year, but he's currently the #7. He has decent wheels and is pretty physical. No real offensive upside though. To me he's a safe bottom-pairing guy, I think he brings a lot of stability when he's in the line-up. Lauzon does too though.
Moore is the other guy they may use. He's definitely NHL-level but he still kind of sucks. He's that guy that you'll throw your hands up multiple times per game and say "WTF are you doing???" His biggest credit is that he doesn't hesitate to throw it on net I guess. He has decent skating ability to bring it up.
Overall, I think on paper the Bruins D is excellent. They have 5 defensemen that have been playing the same roles for the last 3 seasons. They never waver from this set-up:
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-X
Way back they had Chara with Carlo, but since McAvoy and Carlo both became regulars in 2017/18 they always go back to these pairings as long as there are no injuries. So you always have a good puck-carrier with more of a defensive presence, and all the pairings have so much familiarity with one another. But they're out of sync at the moment for sure, like I said none of them look even "OK" right now.