VANCOUVER — Joe Sacco had a theory. Before Saturday’s game, the Boston Bruins interim coach believed Charlie McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov would be a good power pairing against the Vancouver Canucks’ No. 1 line of Conor Garland, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser.
Miller is a mean and fearless center. Garland weighs 165 pounds, but the Scituate native will engage with anyone. Boeser does not need much time to snap off pucks.
It was also Zadorov’s first time back at Rogers Arena since spending 54 games with the Canucks last season.
“We needed to have two of our bigger guys together out against one of their top two lines,” Sacco explained after the 5-1 win. “And the fact that he was coming back here, that didn’t hurt either. Give him a little extra motivation.”
Zadorov likes to roam. Saturday was no exception. The 6-foot-6, 248-pounder does not always obey the enclosures traditionally imposed upon defensive defensemen.
This was not a problem against the Canucks. In 23:39 of ice time, Zadorov helped keep the Canucks off the board. Same with McAvoy (23:56). The No. 1 pair was stout, especially in front of Jeremy Swayman. The No. 1 goalie would be happy if the McAvoy-Zadorov tandem finds traction.
“They did an excellent job of boxing out, taking away lanes and clearing away rebounds,” said Swayman. “It made my life easy. Really awesome to see us get rewarded for it.”
This has not always been the case.
The Bruins signed Zadorov to a six-year, $30 million contract with the intention of locking him into McAvoy’s left side. They believed Zadorov’s size, reach and nastiness would give McAvoy more opportunity to go on the attack.
It didn’t work that way. Ex-coach Jim Montgomery did not take much time to break up the two during training camp. Zadorov’s unpredictability took some bite out of McAvoy’s all-around game. McAvoy, who was completely in tune with former partner Matt Grzelcyk’s every move, had trouble figuring out when and where Zadorov would go. Not only was Zadorov a scattershot defender, McAvoy was more muted than the Bruins could afford him to be.
This was an issue.
McAvoy is one of the Bruins’ three foundational stars along with Swayman and David Pastrnak. McAvoy, more than any of the defensemen, can affect an outcome with his physicality, defensive coverage, transition awareness or offensive-zone support. There is a reason he is the second-highest-paid player on the team.
But if McAvoy is not firing, the Bruins are unlikely to be logging results. He is an instinctual, fast-twitch defenseman. McAvoy has less impact when he has to think about what his partner will do. This slows his game down. The Bruins suffer, especially on defense.
“That’s where we’ve always had success,” Brad Marchand said of the team’s checking. “We have to continue to focus on that first and foremost. Be really tight defensively. And we create offense from that.”
Marchand’s description captures McAvoy’s game perfectly. Once McAvoy initiates a defensive stop, he has the legs and vision to go the other way.
Perhaps Saturday was the start of something.
It was Zadorov’s 32nd game in the Bruins system. Perhaps he is becoming more settled with regard to when he has to hold his ground and when he can improvise. This looked to be the case against the Canucks. McAvoy, in turn, appeared more natural with his reads. During a four-on-four situation at the start of the third period, McAvoy had the confidence to carry the puck up the ice and leave it for Pastrnak.
The No. 1 right wing took over from there. Pastrnak scored on a heady wraparound to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead.
Pastrnak (one goal, three assists) paced the offense. Swayman was perfect save for a garbage-time Max Sasson shot. McAvoy looked like himself.
“Everybody contributed in their own way,” Sacco said. “It started with our leaders tonight and our top players. They certainly set the example of how we want to play.”
