Hall’s Comfort Shows in Preseason Win

(Photo: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Taylor Hall was acquired by the Boston Bruins during the trade deadline last season. Before arriving in Boston, he spent the first half of the season in New York, with the Buffalo Sabres, where he had just two goals with 17 assists in 37 games—the lowest numbers of his NHL career. He was put on the second line, David Krejci’s line and along with Craig Smith showed some quick chemistry. In the 16 remaining regular season games he put up 8 goals and 6 assists proving to be a solid add to the team in black and gold.

During the offseason the Bruins inked a deal with Hall to keep him in Boston for the coming four seasons. The 29-year-old winger signed the contract on July 23rd and Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney was pleased to lock him up while Hall seemed equally thrilled to be remaining in Boston.

“I knew right away, after playing five or six games in Boston, I wanted to be a part of the group and it was up to me to try to play well and show up well enough to have them want me to be a part of it,” Hall said after signing.

Though the Bruins were eliminated in the second round of the postseason, Hall seemed to have already become a part of the fabric that is the Bruins’ image.

“I felt really comfortable right off the bat last year… and that’s a credit to the leadership group. The guys that have laid a foundation. And it’s not just the leadership group, it’s the guys before them—Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic, Andrew Ference. These guys, they did a great job showing the way. Been on four teams in the last two season, so I’ve been in a few dressing rooms. You can tell right away when you walk in what the vibe is, and I’ve really enjoyed the vibe of Boston,” Hall said of his feelings last season.

Of course, feeling a good vibe and feeling comfortable, there are still adjustments to new systems in a time of the season when there isn’t a lot of practice time and the grind is unforgiving. Adding that it was a condensed season as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 issues, and that didn’t give Hall much time before playing in the deep end and just dealing with whatever came.

He’s a professional, so of course he took it all in stride. But this season he’s had a chance to be on the ice with the Bruins from the beginning—experiencing not only training camp, but Captain’s practices as well. And perhaps it is even more important this year with the somewhat unexpected exit of his last season linemate Krejci who elected to go to his native Czech Republic to play this year with HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga.

I was curious how he felt about getting that exposure with the team this season from the beginning.

“Yeah, it’s been great. I think training camp is where you really get a lot of kinks out and you really understand the system. Like, just coming to the rink today, you know, I felt a much more heightened sense of calm just because I’ve been around here. I’ve played the system. I’ve played with these guys a lot. I know the coaching staff. And just the last week of training camp, I think it’s gotten me to another level in my game of just being comfortable with everyone here. And hopefully I can improve on my season last year with that added comfort,” Hall shared.

Of course, with Krejci’s exit, there is spot open on the power play, and Hall showed in Thursday night’s preseason tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers that he might be a good fit on the first unit. His pass to Brad Marchand gave the Bruins their first goal of the game, a game-tying goal, just seven seconds into the power play at 9:17 of the first period.

When asked about how long he had worked with Marchand and that power play unit, Hall confessed they had only worked a bit on that during practice Thursday morning. The lack of prep time speaks to the level of skill of both players but also could hint to what an impressive power play the Bruins could have this season.

Hall also had an assist on Brandon Carlo’s even strength goal later in the opening frame—a goal that turned out to be the game winner. Hall looked strong in the Bruins preseason game Thursday night. While management is still looking at some of the other players, it isn’t known if Hall will play again on Saturday. His position on the opening night roster is secure, but it is good to see what he has already done, and it looks like he is picking up where he left off last season.