What the Bruins are looking for in Opening Night vs. Stars

It’s finally, finally Bruins season at TD Garden.

And it only took approximately 30 years.

There’s no secret that there’s been a ton of changeover for the Bruins this season. From core pieces to bottom of the roster players that left little to the imagination in terms of their expectations or roles, the Bruins are truly starting from scratch at almost every point on their roster, with the Bergeron Line and team’s Mike Reilly-Brandon Carlo looking like its only fixtures.

So, just what will B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy have his eye on when his team takes the ice tonight?

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  "Our fourth line, that's a role that we've leaned on guys [in the past]," Cassidy said. "[Tomas] Nosek's a little bit new. We're giving [Trent Frederic] a little more responsibility. We have [Curtis] Lazar, right now it's [Karson Kuhlman], so they may get more of those shifts against top-end guys, so that's something we want to see."
  
  This is a huge storyline for the Bruins to watch in 2021-22, really. The Bruins basically threw Sean Kuraly out there for almost any defensive-zone situation last year. Nosek is a different kind of fourth-line pivot, and his usage in Vegas confirmed that, as Pete DeBoer liked to put Nosek out there in favorable scoring situations.
  
  If this new Frederic-Nosek-Kuhlman line proves incapable of hanging with high-skilled opposition, Cassidy may look towards the team's new third line, with Jake DeBrusk to the left of Erik Haula and Nick Foligno as his next-best option.
  
  The Bruins are also eager to see how Charlie Coyle fares out of the gate as the replacement for David Krejci between wingers Taylor Hall and Craig Smith.
  
  "The chemistry between Hall and Coyle," Cassidy identified as another thing he'll be looking for tonight. "I think it's going to be good, and I think that line's going to do well because they're all good players. But how's that going to play? We only saw one game. That's something that we'll see over time, not going to judge it on one game."

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  On the backend, a lot of focus will be on the Bruins' new addition, the 6-foot-4 Derek Forbort, who will begin his Bruins career to the left of Charlie McAvoy on the team's top pairing.
  
  The Bruins are essentially hoping that Forbort can be a more veteran-savvy version of Jeremy Lauzon, and there's certainly reason for that, as Forbort finished last year as one of the league's top shot-blocking threats, and ate penalty-killing minutes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  
  "We know what we got back there," Cassidy offered. "I think Forbort's fine no matter who he plays with. He's going to stick true to himself."
  
  But speaking as a whole, Cassidy wants to see a team that's ready to go from the moment the puck is dropped, and a team that was as sick of practice as they claimed throughout their 10-day break between games.
  
  "As a team, you think you're prepared, you've had this much practice, we've worked on situational stuff. We feel like we've covered everything," Cassidy acknowledged. "But as a coach, you're always worried, like what if doesn't come out that way and all of a sudden you're like, 'Wow. We're not even ready. What the hell are we doing for the last 10 days?
  
  "So for me, that's the fear you always have as a coach. So you have a little bit of anxiety of is your team ready? I think they are. You know, they look good in practice, we've covered a lot of stuff and tried to go over some of the newness that would be factors for the players; D-zone coverage, especially, is a little bit different. Tried to really harp on that [and] breakout support. But until we play. [we won't know]."
  
  The Bruins and Stars will drop the puck just after 7 p.m. at TD Garden.

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  Here are the expected lines and pairings for the Bruins... 
  
  Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
  
  Taylor Hall - Charlie Coyle - Craig Smith
  
  Jake DeBrusk - Erik Haula - Nick Foligno
  
  Trent Frederic - Tomas Nosek - Karson Kuhlman
  
  Derek Forbort - Charlie McAvoy
  
  Mike Reilly - Brandon Carlo
  
  Matt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
  
  Jeremy Swayman

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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.