There was a battle in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night. It’s early in the season but the two juggernauts of the American Hockey League (AHL) went at it, and it showed. The Providence Bruins and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins played a tight game with not a lot of chances, with two defenses and goaltenders delivering.
The surprise isn’t that the Bruins won 3-1; they can slowly will their way to a win, and it’s what happened on Wednesday night. The surprise is that they are 7-0 and look the part. They entered the season with a good hockey team but weren’t expected to be great. Yet, here they are and looking like the best team in the AHL.
Providence Plays a Complete Game
What stands out about this team is that they win in multiple ways. Yes, they forecheck to wear teams down, something they did in the 3-1 victory over the Penguins. However, they also play fast, something their head coach Ryan Mougenel, noted after the game. He didn’t hesitate to mention the desire to pick up the pace, even against the Penguins, to take over the game.
The key is that the Bruins score, averaging over 4.42 goals per game, and defend, allowing only 2.14 goals per game. Their offense takes over games but their latest game saw the defense and most notably, the goaltender take over. Michael DiPietro was voted the top goaltender of the AHL last season and looked the part on Wednesday night with a 25-save performance.
The complete game starts when the Bruins don’t have the puck, or more accurately, when they just control or lose it. “The most important thing is how you create gaps for yourself. Transitions happen the most in the game, so we talk about the harder you come back, the more space there is and offense for yourself,” Mougenel noted after the latest game. The big plays happen in transition, and when this team can create space for itself when they don’t have the puck.
The AHL Veterans
A fascination in the AHL is the zig when everyone zags. The resistance or the team that bucks the trend always stands out. In a league where teams devalue the aging prospect, there are a few teams betting on them, and it’s playing off. The 24-year-old or 25-year-old who is just starting to come into form is making a difference in the AHL and even the NHL.
The Bruins are led by a top six that features Riley Tufte, Georgii Merkulov, and Matej Blumel, three forwards that other teams would call veterans. While they aren’t prospects, they are young NHL-caliber players, and it’s allowed to be great at the AHL level. “I think the difference this year is we have a lot of returning players who know our system, know what our foundations are and what’s important,” Mougenel added about how the veterans are making a difference. “And they’re hungry! They see what’s in front of them,” he added. The Boston Bruins are rebuilding, and there’s a chance they trade their veterans to the players in Providence who are playing with a roster call-up in mind.
It’s not just the Bruins who are betting on older prospects. The Pittsburgh Penguins are doing the same with former Bruin Justin Brazeau, making an impact for them. “One of our favorite players was Justin Brazeau,” Mougenel noted after the game. It takes time to develop, and the patient teams, or the ones banking on the long-term outlook, are watching it pay off.
Ryan Mougenel’s Vision Reflected in the Team
Every coach has a certain style or vision for how the team should play. For many, it’s forechecking to set up the offense, even if the forecheck isn’t done with a purpose. With Mougenel, everything has a reason behind it, and the Bruins play out of structure, especially on their breakouts.
“The most important thing is how we come out. We want to have depth in how we attack. We believe in ice balance too, so off the rush we want balance, so that’s really important,” Mougenel noted after the game. The Bruins often have the forwards carry the puck with the defense right behind them. This accomplishes two things. It allows for an easy recovery, and two, it allows them to come at teams in waves.
The Charlotte Checkers generated pressure like this last season, and the Florida Panthers came at teams in waves as well. It starts with structure on the rush. “We’re built to defend some of our breakout mistakes,” Mougenel noted about the defense trailing the play, adding, “Our structure has allowed us to get opportunities when we come out of our defensive zone.” The Bruins don’t overwhelm people on the rush, per se but they can grind their way to goals, and it’s what they’ve done to start the season 7-0.
The Potential Shortcomings for Providence
It’s early in the season, and a lot can change. The specific issue that this Bruins team faces is the possibility of some call-ups. The NHL team has struggled, and the prospects might be on the roster in no time. Even the older players like Merkulov or Riley Tufte have carved out roles on the bottom six.
It’s happening with the Penguins, a team that looked depleted without Ville Koivunen and Owen Pickering, two prospects who were called up lately. It will start happening with the Bruins. Turnover in this league is a common occurrence, and eventually, this team will look much different.
The good news is that the Bruins have the infrastructure in place to soften the blow. They have a team that’s bought into Mougenel’s system, and it’s allowing them to have a great season, to look like a team that can replace a top prospect.
