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Results will soon follow the chances Karson Kuhlman continues to get

October 13, 2019, 12:07 AM ET [2 Comments]
Anthony Travalgia
Boston Bruins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
There’s a lot of good things that Karson Kuhlman brings to the table.

As head coach Bruce Cassidy said following the Bruins 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils Saturday night, Kuhlman is tenacious on the puck, and is not afraid to take a hit to get the puck out of the zone. He can get to the net, and get himself into those high scoring areas.

Usually when you do that, results will follow.

But unfortunately for the rookie, the hard work he’s put in on the ice hasn’t produced any results as Kuhlman remains pointless through five games.

“Well, I do like what I’m seeing. He’s had a little tough luck, he’s had some chances in tight. He’s not one of those guys that’s naturally going to score, like maybe a Pasta [David Pastrnak], doesn’t get a lot of chances,” Cassidy said. “He’s going to need volume, he’s getting it. He’s going to get rewarded if he keeps playing like that.”

Kuhlman thought he finally got himself on the board Thursday in Colorado, but his goal was disallowed after video review deemed goalie interference helped with Kuhlman’s tally.

Between his goal coming off the board on Thursday, and several scoring chances not going his way Saturday night, it would be easy for the 24-year old to get frustrated with his game. But he’s been in this position before and knows that the key to turning things around and getting the monkey off his back is patience.

“Yeah, that's exactly it. It's gonna come, you gotta bear down a little bit more, especially in those goal scoring areas,” Kuhlman said following the Bruins home opening win at TD Garden. “We're gonna get our chances, especially playing with a guy like [Krejci] and Jake [DeBrusk]. So it's going to go in and once we get one, they're all going to follow.”

For a guy who didn’t factor into any of the Bruins three goals, I thought Saturday was Kuhlman’s best game of the young season. He was making plays happen at both ends of the ice, was getting to the dirty areas, and even saw 2:33 of shorthanded time on ice.

“We’re trying to build penalty killing into his game so he can have a few extra minutes. He’s good at setting the temp on the forecheck,” added Cassidy. “Hopefully, we get production out of him. That’ll be the last part of it here, but with the way he’s playing, that should follow.”

The perfect example of Kuhlman’s tenacity on Saturday was this play in the second period. He forces a P.K. Subban turnover behind the Devils net, gets himself to the crease and draws a penalty.



“I think my whole life it's, it's kinda been, you know, getting pucks to the net and getting there. High focus on putting on shots throughout the game,” said Kuhlman. “Passed up on one today in the second there that I'm still kind of kicking myself over. But, at the same time I think our line was doing good, good things and when we put on shots, good things are gonna happen.”

Despite the line failing to produce any goals in the victory, a lot of good things did happen for the struggling second line. In 10:43 of five-on-five ice time Saturday, the trio put together 14 shot attempts, 11 shots on goal, six scoring chances and four high-danger scoring chances.

“Yeah, they're awesome,” Kuhlman said about his linemates.

“I think, I think Krech points out little things in my game and what he sees on the ice that I really take to heart and I try to learn from. And then obviously JD gets up and down the ice. So it's a lot of fun playing with both of those guys. And, and like I said, a couple of pucks are going to go in and then it's gonna roll from there.”

As Kuhlman continues to develop, and becoming more reliable in new areas—like the PK—his effort in the offensive zone on Saturday will more often than not lead to better results on the scoresheet.
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