Bruins notebook: Defense a work in progress

One of the big questions going into this Bruins’ season was whether or not management, for as much of an investment as it made in the free agent market, did enough to shore up its blue line.

It remains a question.

The B’s gave stay-at-home defenseman Derek Forbort a three-year deal worth $3 million per season. While he’s had a few hiccups, Forbort’s been pretty much as advertised while playing primarily with Charlie McAvoy, allowing the No. 1 defenseman to spread his offensive wings a little wider this year

But the B’s have lost significant players on the back end over the last couple of years — Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug (free agency) going into last year, Kevan Miller (retirement), Jeremy Lauzon (expansion draft) and Steven Kampfer (free agency, KHL) going into this year.

The B’s mediocre goals against average (2.85, 15th in the league) is certainly not all on the defense. That mark is shared with the some so-so goaltending, especially earlier in the season. After a rough outing in Philadelphia in the second week of the season, rookie Jeremy Swayman has righted his game and gotten his save percentage up to .914. But Linus Ullmark, who was getting the rematch at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, was still looking to improve. He had a save percentage of .901 and seemed to allow one goal a game where you could have reasonably expected a save.

But coach Bruce Cassidy hasn’t always been pleased with his group of defensemen, either. He went so far as to have sent assistant coach Kevin Dean, who deploys the defensive pairs from the bench, up into the press box for last weekend’s games to get a better handle on how to get the most of the group.

He also scratched Mike Reilly, who signed a three-year, $9-million extension in the summer after being obtained at the trade deadline, for the two games last weekend. Connor Clifton was sentenced to the press box for Saturday’s game.

After Saturday’s morning skate, Cassidy broke down his thoughts on the defense for reporters in Philly. It wasn’t all bad, but there are areas marked for improvement.

“I wouldn’t say satisfied.,” said Cassidy. “We knew they were a younger group. I don’ think there’s a 30-year-old in the bunch on D. You’re talking about all 20-somethings. None of them are true first-year players, but again there’s going to be some growing pains, some consistency factors, momentum in a game and how to keep it just by being solid without chasing the game. There’s always some of that we go through with a few different guys. There’s some newness for Forbort with different partners, and Reilly to a certain extent. So yes, they can be better in terms of cleaning up. I think below the goal line, our breakouts are one of of our issues on the back end. We’d like to be cleaner. So that’s one area.

“The O-zone blue line and manufacturing some offense. …We saw a little bit of it out of Charlie the last game. Brandon (Carlo) is on the board. But maybe a little bit of movement to open up some stuff. But all in all, they’ve defended well. I like that part of it. They’ve defended well the odd one-on-one situation. We’ve been beat with wide speed and that’s something we’ll have to fix with their gaps, but at the end of the day in terms of structure, they’ve defended well and valued the defensive part of the game and not put themselves in bad spots.”

With Clifton going out of the lineup, Jakub Zboril kept his spot in the lineup but had to move to his off side on the right. It may not be ideal, but Cassidy pointed out that there are some aspects to be embraced in the move.

“It’s incumbent on him to be ready to go in that situation. When you’re the seventh guy or the 13th forward, if you’re a left or right winger, you’ve got to work on both,” said Cassidy. “We made that really clear to him, and (John Moore) when he was here… There are some things that are different, but there are some advantages and you’ve got to take advantage of those – handling pucks on your forehand more, one-timers from the O-zone blue line are a little easier to hit. …Pivoting becomes a little different if you’re not used to it. But at the end of the day, (the message) is ‘go play hockey.’ That’s what’s in front of Jakub. If he wants to play on a regular basis on this team, then he’s got to function on either side, whatever the situation dictates.”

Vladar returns

The Bruins could see the goalie they gave up last summer when the Calgary Flames come to town on Sunday. Daniel Vladar, whom the B’s traded to the Flames for a third round pick after they signed Ullmark, has posted a 3-0-1 record with a .933 save percentage and a 1.96 GAA while playing behind Jacob Markstrom (.942, 1.68, 6-3-4).

“He was a great kid,” said Cassidy. “He came to the rink every day with a smile on his face. His understanding of the language got better. He came here at a young age, got better and better and was able to communicate more. I liked him and hope he does well. It’s one of those things where we didn’t want to have two young goalies at the same time. His numbers are good in Calgary. Good for him. He’s a hard working kid.”

Meanwhile, old friend Milan Lucic had 4-2-6 totals and was minus-3 while average 12:14 in icetime in 17 games for the Flames heading into the game on Long Island on Saturday. …

Trent Frederic, who has been out of the lineup since taking a big it on Nov. 9. returned to the ice in non-contact jersey for the B’s morning skate in Philly. He’ll also miss Sunday’s game against the Flames but could be available for Wednesday’s game in Buffalo, said Cassidy.