BOSTON — The Bruins have a rookie who leads all first-year NHLers in ice time this season — defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who averages 22 minutes, 58 seconds per game.
They have a winger, Danton Heinen, who ranks fourth among NHL rookies with 28 points. Another rookie winger, Jake deBrusk, plays a regular shift and has a spot on the second power play, and a rookie center, Sean Kuraly, helps anchor an increasingly effective fourth line and kills penalties.
A first-year defenseman who plays third-pairing minutes might not stand out in a rookie crowd like that, but in some ways, Matt Grzelcyk has been as much or more of a stabilizing influence as any kid in the bunch.
Grzelcyk, who turned 24 on Friday, has played 19 straight games since he was called up from AHL Providence in late November, when the B’s were grappling with an imbalance of right-shot (four) and left-shot (two) defensemen. The lefty hasn’t scored much (one goal, five points), and rarely plays as much as the Bruins’ other defensemen (15:37, the lowest average among the six in their current rotation). But he has helped the B’s win a lot over the last month-plus: Entering Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes (7:05, NESN, WBZ-FM 98.5), the B’s are 14-3-2 since his recall.
Just don’t try to tell Grzelcyk he has made it, or has it made.
“I don’t know if I ever really want to think that — for this season, at least,” he said. “I don’t want to get complacent.”
Grzcelyk’s game, which the Bruins’ coaching staff has coaxed, encouraged, and pretty much insisted that he play, can’t have much complacency built in. At only 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds, he’s not built to stay at home for prolonged periods, defending the net. He must use his speed and smarts to push pucks quickly from the defensive zone and then hopefully watch that turn into offense.
“From a coaching perspective, we talked to him about being comfortable playing to his strengths, and how he could be successful,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Some players agree with you; some, you might have a disagreement.
“I think with Grizz, it was fairly straightforward: ‘You’ve got to use your feet, you’ve got to use your brain. It’s in your hands to be a good player back there.’ ”
Grzelcyk didn’t disagree. The Boston University product, a third-round draft pick in 2012 and the Charlestown-raised son of one of TD Garden’s game-day “Bull Gang” crew, was just a little hesitant at first to use his primary skills.
“I don’t think my game is really going to work too well for anyone if I’m just batting the puck up the boards,” he said. “They can get guys bigger than me to do that, so I’ve got to offer more.
“Now that I’ve got a few more games under my belt, maybe I feel a little more comfortable to try a few more things, and to showcase what I have on the offensive blue line, especially. But it’s something I’ve got to work on, and continue.”
A certain amount of trial and error comes with bringing the puck-moving role in which he excelled at BU and AHL Providence (32 points plus-13 as a rookie pro last season) to the NHL. Grzelcyk considers himself fortunate, then, to have been paired with big, physical veteran Kevan Miller, who plays a more defensive style.
“He’s been great for me,” said Grzelcyk, whose plus-13 ranks fourth on the team, and who had only two “minus” games all season. “If I ever want to try to get up ice and things like that, he always has my back.
“It’s been a good balance. I’m really lucky I have him as my partner.”
Around the boards
Cassidy said Thursday night’s storm-related postponement “threw a bit of a wrench” into the Bruins’ goaltending plans, and left him undecided as to whether Tuukka Rask or Anton Khudobin would start on Saturday. Cassidy did say that Rask and Khudobin would each start once this weekend. … The B’s visit the Penguins on Sunday night (7:35, NBCSN, WBZ-FM 98.5), after which they begin their bye week. They won’t hit the ice again until Friday, Jan. 12, when they practice in Montreal in advance of the next night’s first meeting with former head coach Claude Julien and the Canadiens.