Part of the beauty of Andrew Peeke is that he knows who he is. That’s a tough, stay-at-home third pairing defenseman.
But in the Bruins’ 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, he had to be a little more than that – and he stepped up to the challenge. Peeke scored his first goal as a Bruin, an empty-netter that sealed a game that had gotten too close for comfort, had an assist and finished the game at plus-4 in 20:55 of icetime.
“Every player wants to be in key situations and gain trust from the coaches and obviously your teammates, too,” said Peeke. “Being out there in important moments, it’s good pressure to put on yourself. You just have to go out there and execute and do your job.”
While no one expects Peeke to be seeing power-play work any time soon, he has occasionally shown a penchant to have decent offensive instincts. Knowing your role doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself.
“He knows what he is and he knows what he has to bring to our group every night – consistency, physicality, being hard to play against in our own zone and protecting the front of the net. And then the next step for Peeker is getting more comfortable with the puck to execute plays coming out of our zone, first passes,” said coach Joe Sacco. “I think those are the things he’s starting to build into his game. Offensively at the blue line, making right decisions. Getting pucks toward the net and making sure we’re not getting those shots blocked, getting two on the inside. Being active down the wall when there’s opportunities to pinch. Those are just other areas of the game that I think he can build on. But I think what makes him valuable to our group is that he knows what he is and he knows what he has to bring every night.”
It was Peeke’s play that helped the B’s take command of the game in Tuesday. On a 4-on-4, he carried the puck through the neutral zone and then cut right into the slot after gaining the blue line before ripping a shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy could not control. Pavel Zacha pounced on the loose puck and dished it over to David Pastrnak for his 20th of the year to put the B’s up 3-0.
“Just as a player and a defenseman evolving, I’ve played a couple years now and I’ve learned about my game and my identity,” said the 26-year-old Peeke. “I know my core strengths and I know what’s going to be a strong player in this league. But for me there’s always room to grow and just gaining more confidence, doing something I did last night. Maybe a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have taken that ice and done that. That’s an area I think I can grow.”
And in the win, the B’s got not one but two goals from defensemen. There was Peeke’s empty-netter from 185 feet and, in the first period, Parker Wotherspoon scored his first goal in his 76-game NHL career, a veritable snipe over Vasilevskiy’s shoulder.
“Spoons, that’s such an awesome accomplishment. Everyone remembers their first goal and it was a beautiful goal, beautiful shot,” said Peeke. “And for me, I’ve been waiting as well. I feel like I’ve been putting some shots through and hit a couple of posts. It’s fitting that it takes no goalie being in there, but I’ll take it for sure.”…
Mark Kastelic, who suffered a head injury last week in his altercation with Emil Lilleberg after Lilleberg crosschecked him in the face, was back at practice, wearing a red non-contact jersey
He was feeling better but there’s still no determination of if he’ll be ready for Saturday’s game in Ottawa. Kastelic said he has been through the concussion protocol a couple of times before and you can only take it a day at a time.
Kastelic was moved by his team’s response on Tuesday night, hitting Lilleberg at every turn and finally Trent Frederic fighting him in a heavyweight tussle.
“it was really special,” said Kastelic. “That’s the kind of guys we have in here and how tight we are, stepping up and having my back out there. I try to have their backs as best I can and for them to show some fight and stick up for me like that, it means a lot.”
On the play in question, the B’s were going down to defeat to the Lightning in Tampa. With seconds left, Kastelic moved on Lilleberg for a check and the Bolt defenseman raise his stick in defense. He got a five-minute major for it, but no supplemental discipline.
“You never really expect a crosscheck to the face. It’s the end of the game and I’m an emotional player. No matter how much time’s left on the clock, I’m going to play right to the end, especially in a moment like that when you’re in a little bit of a skid, just not happy about the way things are going,” said Kastelic. “So I just wanted to play right to the end, finish a check. I don’t think you’re really expecting a crosscheck like that, but he’s trying to defend himself, so I get it. One thing led to another there, you get a little reckless and things happen.”…
Hampus Lindholm continues to make progress from the broken bone he suffered in his knee on November 12 in St. Louis. He skated hard before practice and then joined the team session for a portion of it. There’s still no real timetable.
“Any pro athlete will tell you being on the sidelines is not something you want,” said Lindholm. “But it’s a part of sports. So I just try to do everything I can to maximize when I do get back that I’m strong and hopefully I learn something and I can be a better version of myself when I do get back.”..
David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand were given maintenance days while the rest of the squad went through a hard, conditioning-focused workout.