AHL Playoff Lessons: What Providence’s Exit Means for the Boston Bruins

AHL Playoff Lessons: What Providence’s Exit Means for the Boston Bruins

The Providence Bruins fizzled out of the Calder Cup playoffs on Sunday and it left the big club with some big question marks heading into next season. You’re Locked On Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is up, Bruins fans, and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. I’m your host, Ian McLaren, and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke to B. Today is Monday, May 12th. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Bruins, your first listen every day. It’s part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. And today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockdown NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. On today’s podcast, we are going to discuss the end of the Providence Bruins season culminating with Sunday’s loss to the Charlotte Checkers in pretty embarrassing fashion when you look at it. It raises some questions about some of the Bruins hopefuls for next season and also about the future of perhaps the coaching staff down there as well. So, we’re going to break down uh the loss, the positives, and the negatives from how the Providence Bruins season ended with eight playoff games. Before we get into all that, a quick reminder. You can find the podcast on social media, locked NHL Bruins. You can find me, my hockey thoughts, dad jokes at Ian C. McLaren. I am a lifelong Boston Bruins fan. I’ve been covering this team and the NHL for various outlets for about 20 years now. Now, on Sunday, the Providence Bruins ended their playoff run with a 52 loss in Charlotte. And this was a game five that had been forced after the Providence Bruins had gone down 2-0 in the series. So, you’d think that they’d have the momentum coming into this one, putting the pressure on Charlotte, who is, of course, Florida’s uh AHL team, but no. The Providence Brewings came out with a stunning lack of urgency in a do or die scenario and they were held to just one shot in the entire first period. They got outshot 20 to one to start this game. Not even to start it, like well through the game they were being outshot 20 to1 and ended up with eight shots on goal total in this do or die game. Uh Charlotte to their credit came out flying, played extremely well defensively and had a goalender in um Capo Kakinan who had an outstanding series for the Charlotte Checkers starting all five games. Finished with a 926 save percentage and a 178 goals against average. Uh had a 32 save shutout in game two. He was the AHL goalie of the year in 201920 and he was huge for this team as they moved on. For the Bruins, they had the reigning AHL goalie of the year, but unfortunately uh Michael Dpietro was injured in this series third period of game four and uh Brandon Busy was forced to start the game. It wasn’t, you know, something that you could pin on him uh fully, but can’t help but wonder if it would have gone differently if Michael Dpietro had been healthy. Busy was decent, but DPro’s absence was indeed huge. Um they clawed back from that 3- 0 deficit. The game was lost here in the first two periods. as they were outshot 38 overall, 20 to1 shot differential to start the game. That’s not just a slow start. Like that’s a unique collapse. They were suffocated by Charlotte’s defensive structure, but still eight shots in a playoff elimination game is borderline unacceptable. They did show some fight late and credit to Vinnie Leiieri for two goals, but by then it was too little too late. throw on two empty netters in this one. And uh that was pretty much all she wrote. Uh again, that shot differential unacceptable in any game, let alone a do or die playoff matchup. Where was the energy? That’s kind of on the players and it’s also kind of on the coaching. And it doesn’t speak very well of Ryan Mugganel who perhaps was in the mix for the Boston Bruins head coaching job as a bit of a dark horse. If Providence had won this game and then gone on for a deeper run in the Calder Cup playoffs, it would be hard to keep him out of the running for that. But the way that they lost this game probably takes that off the table and maybe there’s some questions about whether or not he should be back. Uh felt like the team was caught off guard a bit by Charlotte’s pressure. They never recovered and there were some mental lapses that doomed them early. Two empty netters made the score look worse than it was, but this game was pretty much over by the time the second period ended. A missed opportunity. Uh Providence showed flashes of strong playoff play. They came back in the first round. They came back in the second round, but they did not bring their best when it mattered most. And that’s very unfortunate because we were hoping to see some steps forward for some of these young guys who are hopefuls for the NHL roster next season. Uh there was no fire, there was no structure, there was no spark, and that’s really what hurts the most. A no show when it mattered most. And that’s a red flag for players who are looking to make the jump to the NHL next season and for a team that was built for success down in the AHL level. Uh they were missing a couple guys. Um you know perhaps Morat Nudinov would have been a a good play there. You had uh Dan Lockmelis who went to Latvia or to play for Latvia at the World Championships. Perhaps that would have been um those guys would have been difference makers for this team, but still with the players that you had in the lineup, uh there’s every reason to believe that they should have been able to put up more of a fight. Uh there were some positives, there were some negatives though and one of them being Fabian Lysel’s play in the Stanley or sorry in the Calder Cup playoffs for the Providence Bruins. We’ll touch on this more coming up, but only two assists. Uh only how many shots on goal did he have? Yeah, only two assists in seven games, one of which he was made a healthy scratch. And coming off the impressive end to his NHL season, you would think that he would have had more of an impact for Providence in the playoffs, but that was not the case. uh he wasn’t alone in kind of not stepping up, but certainly we would have liked to have seen more from a guy who got an extended look at the end of the NHL regular season and who finished pretty strong with a few points over his last four games, but not really stepping up to the point where he was healthy scratched. Now, is that on the coaching staff for not getting him ready and playing him in prime positions? Is that on myself for not showing up altogether? It was a disappointing result for the Providence Bruins. And there are some big question marks heading into next season in terms of guys who could be in the running for Boston Bruins roster spots. Guys who could be in the running for coaching or assistant coaching jobs. Uh a very disappointing way for Providence to end the season. And we’ll touch on some of those negatives as well as some positives here as the podcast continues. Do you ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it’s easy to lose track. And that’s where Monarch Money comes in. It’s your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money isn’t just a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, you stop just managing your money and start building wealth. When I started using Monarch, I realized just how much I was spending on streaming services. Now, I budget smarter, cut out ones I wasn’t watching as much, and save more. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com. code locked on NHL for half off your first year. Thank you so much once again for making Locked on Bruins part of your daily routine. Everydayers will know it is available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube and it’s part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. And today we’re talking about a missed opportunity for the Providence Bruins who were able to force a game five after going down two nothing to the Charlotte Checkers in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. But they did not bring their best when it mattered most. And there were a couple guys that really disappointed for them and who did not step up. And among those, Fabian Lysel was probably the biggest disappointment. He has all the tools, but if he’s not producing in the AHL playoffs, how close is he really to being NHL ready? The Bruins gave him an extended look kind of by default heading into the end of the season. They just did not have enough talented bodies to throw out there. And they were of course also not really looking to perform optimally. So it was a great chance for him to get some playing time. Unfortunately, he only had two assists goalless in seven games, managed just seven shots total. A troubling statline for a player build as a potential top six winger. Um and among those decisions or among in the midst of all this, he was healthy scratched by head coach Ryan Mugganell in uh game was it game four or game three? I can’t really remember. But um not a good look for a guy in the playoffs. like to get scratched in the playoffs is one of the worst things that could happen because that is when you need your best players to be at their best. And to have a guy who was a first round pick at the NHL entry draft four years ago, limited NHL playing time, for him to not be someone that you are relying on to score and lead your team in the playoffs is kind of a red flag. And I’ve been an apologist for Fabian Lysel since he was drafted. I’ve often talked about how we need to be patient with these guys, how it takes a long time for um some players to develop and to really find their uh find their groove. He was a healthy scratch in game four. Uh he did return to the lineup for game five, but had a very minimal impact. And you could argue that perhaps it would have been better for them to just get him out there and see what he could do then. Uh but they did win game four, brought him back for game five and uh out he goes and out go the Boston Bruins. There were some other disappointing players. I was expecting a bit more from Fraser Minton. He also only had two assists in eight games for Providence throughout the playoffs. Uh Luck Melish of course had one assist in four games. It would have been nice to see him stick around. Uh of course the biggest disappointment was seeing Michael Dpietro go out early due to injury. Uh he had been playing pretty well. Of course, he was the AHL goalie of the year this season, and it’s very possible that he could be the um backup for the Boston Bruins this coming season if he were to uh resign. Of course, he will be uh unrestricted free agent this summer, as will Busy be. And also if Uniscore Basalo is traded, there’s a real opportunity here. In the seven games DPro did play, he had a 928 save percentage, a 185 goals against the average just did not get enough offensive support uh that he needed in the playoffs as evidenced by guys like Lysel Minton combining for only four total assists. So, those are real uh disappointments and question marks for this team heading into next season. Uh certainly, Lysel, zero goals, seven shots. Uh Matt Potra was the on the other end of a pretty bad hit. He was able to stay in. He had four points in eight games, minus five rating. Uh showed some real promise. with some fantastic moves to set up. I believe it was an Oliver Walstrom goal. That’s a guy we’ll talk about coming up. Uh but again, not necessarily dominate and that’s the kind of play you need in order to prove that you ready for full-time NHL duty. Uh outside of a top few, a lot of these guys really struggled. Um Ian Mitchell was decent but didn’t really move the needle. Um, and a lot of question marks for this team in terms of who might be able to step up and become a Boston Bruin next season. There’s a bunch of um restrictive free agents, John Fonacci, uh, Georgie Merculov, and Oliver Walstrom. Unfortunately for the Bruins, Merculov was injured and therefore uh was unavailable for the playoffs. He certainly would have been a potential difference maker as their leading scorer from the regular season. Finaci scored a goal for the big club in the regular season, only one goal in eight games and zero assists to his name. He is also a restrictive free agent. Um on the Oh, you also have some unrestricted free agents in Tyler Pitlick, Rally Tuy, Vinnie Leier. We’ll talk about the latter two here coming up in a moment. On the back end, Danil Misu and Drew Bavaro as restricted free agents, Michael Callahan as a unrestricted free agent, Ian Mitchell, Mitchell as a restricted free agent, and then those two guys in net. uh Michael D. Pietro and Brandon Booy. I would expect there will be some of these guys up with the big club next season. Uh but Lysel didn’t do himself any favors in terms of securing a spot. Matt Potra, I would argue, put himself in more of a position to do so. Fraser Minton disappointed as well, although he is got the tools to be up there next season. Uh but with a better showing in the playoffs, this team and some of these players would have done much better in terms of impressing Don Sweeney and and company securing a spot on the NHL roster. And this flame out the way that they went out, it wasn’t the fact that they lost in five games to Charlotte. Charlotte’s a good team and again Kacadin had played very very well in net for them. But starting the game 20 to1, recording only eight shots on goal in basically a game seven situation is just unacceptable. And it doesn’t speak well to some of these prime players on this team like Minton, like Lysel, uh Vinnie Leier, to his credit, stepped up with the two goals, but he’s not like a potential core player for the Bruins moving forward. and it doesn’t speak well to the coaching staff. And again, you can probably scratch Ryan Muganell off the list of potential Boston Bruins head coaching candidates after the way this one ended. If it was like 55, guys were stepping up, shooting the puck on net and they lost in overtime, that’s one thing, but losing like this, not a good look at all. And um yeah, it’s a tough one for Providence and for Bruins fans who were looking to have some of their players to cheer for here without a presence for the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Who did step up? Who did play well? We’ll discuss that here as the podcast continues. All right, let’s end on a positive note by discussing some things that did went well. did went well. Did go well for the Providence Bruins. Vinnie Latiieri delivered big time. Seven points in eight games. Brought some consistency to the mix and veteran leadership. Uh he as always stepped up. He played very well for uh maybe not very well, but he played well for Boston when he was called up late in the season. Uh he is still uh let’s see what’s his contract situation looking like. He’s an unrestricted free agent, 30 years old, versatile forward. He could get a look elsewhere um from an NHL team. If indeed he is looking for more of a role at the NHL level, maybe he goes back to Minnesota. Uh, you heard the story perhaps of Jacob Loco living in his house and then Laco was traded back to Boston. So maybe Latiieri just goes home, plays in the Wild organization and reclaims uh his house, but he played pretty well for Providence for sure. Michael Dpietro of course had some solid moments between the pipes and could be in the mix for a backup role if the Bruins move Ununis Corpalo this summer. Uh while Fabian Lysel didn’t score, he at least stayed healthy and gained m more playoff reps after a tough regular season. Still upside there. It’s just going to take still perhaps some more time than Bruins fans hoped or that they’re willing to accept because I mean some players are already or some people are are already writing him off as as a bit of a bust which I think is uh kind of unfortunate because he still is young and has time to grow. Uh Riley Tuy led the team in goals, finished with a plus two, one of the few who played with size and finish around the net. He is also an unrestricted free agent. He was signed last summer to a one-year $775,000 contract. Um still only 27 and a guy who could contribute. I would not be surprised if they look to resign him and bring him back on a two-way deal on the cheap if he doesn’t generate any interest elsewhere. I thought Oliver Walstrom was effective with four points in seven games, a team best plus three. He also had three goals to finish second on the team, tie for second with Latiieri and behind Riley Tuy. He’s a guy that, you know, did not really show much when he was claimed off waiverss from the New York Islanders with the Boston Bruins, but uh he did have 15 points in 19 games for Providence after being placed on waiverss and sent down. Three goals, one assist in the uh Calder Cup playoffs. So, he could be a guy the Bruins are looking for depth on the right side, and he stepped up and showed that he should be in the mix for another contract uh moving forward. Uh Matt Potra, like I said, kind of up and down, but certainly a guy that showed flashes of elite skill, not consistent enough yet at even strength and still needs to add some size to avoid being knocked around. Riley Tuy made a case for a future fourthline role in Boston. Strong, smart, opportunistic. Let’s drove offense. Had some defensive issues though. Potra still has top six NHL potential, but the AHL playoffs showed he needs to round out his game. And to end it off, I think Oliver Walstrom quietly improved his stock after a rocky regular season. Lysel though for me was the biggest letdown. Supposed to be a breakout. He looked overwhelmed at times. Not a good sign for someone knocking on the NHL door. Veterans like Patrick Brown and Jeffrey Viel were largely passengers. Providence needed leadership, not penalties and poor defensive play. And outside the top line, there was very little offense. The depth scoring dried up pretty fast. In a lot of ways, this mirrored the Boston Bruins in past playoffs and in this regular season. They were outshot, showed they weren’t ready to battle. There was no fire. There was no structure. There was no spark. And all the momentum gained from game four was not followed up on a no-show when it mattered most. And and that’s a red flag for some of these guys who are looking to make the step up, who are looking to get NHL roster spots, NHL coaching jobs. Boston Bruins are going to have to take a long look at who took a steps forward, who t took steps back. Uh Lysel’s playoff performance raises questions about his NHL readiness and the lack of team urgency in game five should be a wakeup call for the entire organization. So a disappointing end to the Providence Bruins season. Now all eyes will be on the head coaching search for this team. Uh they’re going to take some time to analyze everything in the organization top down. Who’s the best candidate to get the most out of the NHL group? Maybe they need a new voice on the AHL team. Players aren’t really developing like we’d want them to. And that’s a statement on Ryan Mugganell and his staff as well. Uh they’ll also take a look at some of the head coaching candidates, get ready for the draft. Uh coming up this week, we’re going to discuss um Tugar Rasque being snubbed by the NHL quarter century vote, which was just unbelievable. Uh we’ll also keep an eye on the Leafs Panthers series because of course there are implications for the Bruins there as if the Panthers are able to come back and win this series after being down 02, it would mean a first round pick for the Boston Bruins uh in the future as a result of the Brad Marshon trade. That’s it for today’s episode of Locked on Boston Bruins, my friends. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen. I hope you had a fantastic weekend. Again, happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and mom figures out there. Thank you for making Lockdown Bruins your first listen today. And for your second listen, check out all the new Locked On NHL game night coverage every game, every night until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. You can find NHL game night on Locked on NHL, wherever you get podcasts, and on YouTube. It’s all part of the Locked On podcast network, your favorite team every day. And we’ll be back tomorrow with a brand new episode of Locked On Boston Bruins.

The Providence Bruins’ Calder Cup playoff run ended with a disappointing 5-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers. Host Ian McLaren analyzes the game’s impact on potential Boston Bruins prospects and coaching staff. Key disappointments include Fabian Lysell’s lackluster performance and the team’s overall lack of urgency. The podcast explores positives like Vinnie Letieri’s strong showing and Oliver Wahlstrom’s improvement. McLaren discusses implications for the Bruins’ roster next season, highlighting concerns about player development and readiness for NHL roles. The episode concludes by touching on upcoming topics, including Tuukka Rask’s NHL snub and potential draft implications from ongoing playoff series.

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