Depth is never a bad thing

As I watched the Bruins/TB game last night I realized why they traded away Andrew Alberts. The philosophy of this Bruins team is to be able to move the puck quickly. They already had some slow defensemen in Chara and Ward and Alberts was never going to be the point producer that they needed. But what I didn't realize until last night was the depth that the Bruins had that allowed them the luxury to let go of Alberts and still have plenty of talent.

Being a BC guy, I was of course mildly annoyed when Alberts was traded (the fact that I have his jersey didn't help my mood too much either!). But while watching the team play I realized that they didn't need him. Mark Stuart has proven to be a fine defenseman and Shane Hnidy provides toughness with a little more experience than Alberts had. Then Andrew Ference went down and I thought, "Hunwick is ready." And he was and his play since Ference's injury has shown that.

Then last Saturday, Aaron Ward went down in the first period. Uh oh. Now what?? Who's next? Oh yeah, Lashoff. But here was a kid that the Bruins sent down late in camp because they felt that he hadn't shown enough advancement in his game to be ready for prime time. But I figured with as well as Hunwick was playing and the steady leadership of Chara and Wideman, the team would be able make up for any shortcoming from Lashoff.

Then last night just before gametime, Kathryn Tappen (one of the more underrated female sports personalities I must say) informs the faithful that word has just come down that Wideman is hurt and won't play against the Lightning. This means both Matt Lashoff and the new kid in town Johnny Boychuk both get to dress and see action. In my eyes, this was a disaster. Now they were playing three kids who could not make the roster out of training camp and three of those steady veterans (including the man with the brand new contract) were not going to be playing. Suddenly the Alberts trade seemed like a terrible idea. If they had kept him they at least would have had someone to plug in with some actual NHL experience. What could Boychuk and Lashoff possibly accomplish against the speed and playmaking skills of Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Prospal, Ranger, Stamkos, et al???

Before the world actually collapsed however something wonderful happened. Those kids played pretty well. After a bad turnover that led to the Lightning's only goal (and it was a misplay by Chara that actually created the chance), Tampa Bay did not put another one past Thomas all night. Granted some of that was due to another great Tim Thomas performance but the kids played well. Lashoff was making some nice crisp passes. Boychuk was hitting people hard and keeping himself in good position most of the night. Granted it's only one game but the way the team is rolling some of that winning attitude has to be rubbing off on these younger players.

A few days ago in my last blog I mentioned things that I was thankful for and talked about Kessel and Wheeler and the other forwards, but I have to say that the young defensemen that have just rolled on up and plugged into the system and played so well are a reason for all Bruins fans to be thankful. Notch another win. The Bruins are good not just because of a few players but because of their depth and that was on display prominently last night.