Breaking Down the Boston Bruins Depth Chart Entering the 2014-15 Regular Season

The Boston Bruins may be missing two seasoned centers for the start of their 2014-15 season, as a Tuesday post on the team’s website indicated.

Author Caryn Switaj reported that David Krejci sat out Tuesday’s practice with an injury he sustained in Saturday’s preseason finale. His status for Wednesday’s regular-season opener was not specified.

Meanwhile, Gregory Campbell continues to work his way back to full form and, in Switaj’s words, “is not expected to be ready for the opener.”

With those absences, the line combinations will not likely resemble the arrangement the Bruins will roll with for the better part of the campaign. As many as four forwards pursuing first-time full-time NHL employment could suit up for the first game.

Meanwhile, Dan Cagen of The MetroWest Daily News echoed Switaj’s report as to the temporary configurations and also specified the presumptive defensive pairings. He observed in his Tuesday write-up that “Matt Bartkowski was the seventh defenseman in line rushes. Adam McQuaid got the first look at replacing Johnny Boychuk by skating on the second pairing, with Torey Krug and Kevan Miller forming the third pairing.”

Based on what ESPNBoston.com’s Joe McDonald filed on Monday evening, McQuaid will be partnering with Dennis Seidenberg on that second unit. Meanwhile, Zdeno Chara and Dougie Hamilton will rejoin one another as the top tandem.

With these reports in mind and a few relatively safe assumptions for when roster-wide health is restored, here is what one can expect from the Bruins’ 2014-15 depth chart.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via bruins.nhl.com.

First Forward Line

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When Krejci returns to action and Milan Lucic is back in full form, they should link up with Loui Eriksson for the starting unit.

Until then, according to the practice reports from Cagen and Switaj, the two wingers are working elsewhere. Eriksson is renewing old acquaintances by patrolling the right wing with third-line mainstays Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg. Lucic is on a temporary top-six troika with center Ryan Spooner and rotating right wings Jordan Caron and Matt Fraser.

With either Fraser or Caron, Lucic is vaguely throwing back to his days of partnering with Nathan Horton and Jarome Iginla. The obvious difference will be a sense of playing in NHL-AHL limbo, at best.

Though significantly less talented and proven at the NHL level, Fraser and Caron have comparable brawn, each tipping the scale at 200-plus pounds.

It is worth noting that a Tuesday evening press release said that the Bruins have sent Caron to Providence. That would suggest it will be Spooner and Fraser trying to substitute for Lucic’s standard allotment of a playmaking pivot and a fellow physical forward.

No one ought to blame him or his temporary linemates for craving a quick return to normalcy. The first-line arrangement from the final week of the preseason is the most logical by virtue of each player’s resume and ceiling.

Second Forward Line

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A rare case of continuity has Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith again flanking Patrice Bergeron. The troika coalesced on the fly amidst the 2013-14 season, and consistency should be a prime objective for the wingers, in particular, in their first full-length 82-game venture.

Due to Smith’s standstill amidst restricted free agency, the line had only one authentic round of game action during the preseason. Nonetheless, per Jess Isner of the team’s website, Bergeron observed, “By the way he looked in the first game -- it was nice, like I said, for us to get that game together as a line, just to get back to doing our little things on the ice and knowing where the guys will be and getting adjusted to that again.”

As noted, the prior familiarity between the three second-line forwards gives this unit a unique advantage over the rest of Boston’s offense. It will be critical to fueling everyone’s task to improve and/or build upon the previous campaign.

Smith, a 23-year-old veteran of two NHL seasons, has yet to cement his long-term top-six aptitude. He can do that by cutting back on the four-, five-, seven-, eight-, 10- and 15-game goal-less droughts that variously plagued his 2013-14 game log.

Marchand, a 26-year-old veteran of four-plus Bruins seasons, can help that cause by returning to tapping into his capabilities. Keeping his extracurricular pursuits in moderation should help prevent a rerun of the 12-, six-, six- and seven-game slumps that littered his 2013-14 diary.

Third Forward Line

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When and if the Lucic-Krejci-Eriksson combination can come back together, Fraser should be on this line. It will suit his physical propensities and his attempts to delicately carry his AHL-caliber scoring touch to the top circuit.

If he can get enough out of the booming shot that earned him 90 goals in 181 minor-league games, Fraser could make a prompt impact on the all-important depth tier of the strike force.

Other than that, it would not be a stretch to envision Soderberg staying at center with Kelly patrolling his left side. They have already collaborated in a variety of arrangements since the former’s NHL career began in 2013.

The viability of this arrangement, of course, assumes consistent presence and consistent performance. Kelly missed 25 regular-season games last season and 14 the year prior, charging up a paltry 27 points in the 91 appearances he did manage.

But if he can finally replenish a more ideal form, he could still have some chemistry to tap into with the likes of Soderberg.

There may be an added bonus in that Kelly and Soderberg are both capable centers. This means there will be an extra option during their shifts in the event one is ejected from the faceoff dot.

Fourth Forward Line

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The eventual return of Krejci and Campbell should entail lowering Spooner to a fourth-line wing.

Much was made, particularly last Friday following an exhibition bout with the Islanders and the previous week in Montreal, of Spooner’s imbalance between offensive and defensive polish. In turn, playing minimal minutes and covering an opposing point patroller in Boston’s zone would be a logical start.

If there is a way to have Spooner and Daniel Paille, both left-handed shots, fill each wing, it will solve the summer-long calls for more speed on the fourth line. Letting the gritty Campbell dig with the defensemen and then distribute the puck to one or both of those two on the breakout could make for a fascinating sight.

Until Boston has its full roster in action, Paille is working with Craig Cunningham and Bobby Robins. Robins has yet to see any regular-season NHL action and may prove to be little more than an AHL-caliber Shawn Thornton.

If only because of the direction of his blade, Cunningham may have a chance to usurp a right-wing opening. Not unlike Fraser, he is a mystery at the top level, but has saturated the scoresheets in the minors. Through three seasons in Providence, he has yet to finish below the 20-goal plateau with 70 strikes and 129 points in 226 career games.

If the Bruins still intend to pursue fourth-line reformation, though, the likes of Cunningham and Robins will likely be back in the AHL before long.

Defensive Pairings

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Based on the aforementioned Cagen and McDonald reports, Boston’s first and third defensive duo pack a dense blend of stay-at-home and transitional capability.

Chara is an elite two-way talent on the decline, while his partner, Hamilton, has a similar skill set still under development.

Miller and Krug have previously complemented each other with their respective bouncer build and puck-moving, puck-slinging qualities. Being second-year NHL regulars, it makes sense all the more for them to take on the lightest workload in their position.

In between, the veteran pairing of McQuaid and Seidenberg has plenty of proven efficiency in their day job. That is, at least, when both are 100 percent or only negligibly shy of it.

What the middle unit lacks is aggregate offensive prowess and promise for long-term health. These were the two blueliners who just missed a combined 100 regular-season games and the entire playoffs in 2013-14.

Even if the worst of their injuries are behind them, rust will remain a factor until they are both back in regular-season form. They have had more than a month's worth of formal and informal practice and preseason games. But those do not quite authentically simulate full-fledged, extramural NHL action.

Health factor aside, there will be nights when any given blueliner needs a breather.

In a multitude of potentialities, Bartkowski may fill in on the second or third pairing while someone else sits out and/or moves up. Miller spelling McQuaid and Seidenberg relieving Chara are two examples to look for on a sporadic basis.

Goaltending

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The questions as to the distribution of the goaltending workload are even fewer than you might think.

Tuukka Rask is sure to shoot for a final regular-season appearance count in the upper 50s. Niklas Svedberg will take on the better part of the remainder, while Malcolm Subban or Jeremy Smith may snag a few starts amidst momentary call-ups.

When Svedberg or another backup starts in lieu of Rask may depend a little on the quantity of games and quality of competition. He enters this season with only one regular-season NHL game to his credit.

But remember that last year’s backup, Chad Johnson, started and won a 3-2 decision against Jonathan Quick’s Kings on Jan. 20. Johnson had entered the 2013-14 season with a mere 10 NHL games on his transcript.

Svedberg could scrape the blue paint as early as this Thursday, one night after Rask figures to get the nod for the season opener. That is unless Bruins head coach Claude Julien prefers to go with his proven elite for a divisional date with Detroit.

Odds are Rask’s first respite will come no later than the seventh game of the season, a visit to Buffalo a week from Saturday.

That will be the team’s third road tilt in as many cities in four nights, the others being in Detroit and Montreal the preceding Wednesday and Thursday. It may also feature the first ideal opponent with which to let Svedberg work into full-time NHL employment from the bottom up.