Rob O’Gara To Get His Shot
All season long the Boston Bruins have been dealing with injuries and other roster question marks. Additionally, Brad Marchand is now out with an upper-body injury. David Krejci has been placed on the IR. Rob O’Gara has been called up from Providence.
O’Gara now has his shot to earn himself a roster spot just as some of his former Providence team members have done, as with Danton Heinen. Alike Heinen O’Gara will have to make this chance count as Heinen did by scoring two goals in his debut. Though the expectations for O’Gara are a bit different seeing that he is a defenseman. Also, the expectation for him is to make a limited amount of mistakes. Plus contributing to the offense if/when possible.
Right now the Bruins are struggling in their own end, as most of their defenseman is a minus on the plus-minus chart. In contrast, O’Gara in 7 games for Providence is a plus-four. Hopefully, he can bring some much-needed defense, with the exception of Zdeno Chara to a team with many offensive minded d-man.
Similarly, the league has evolved to one where offensive defensemen are more sought. This leads to holes in the defense as we have seen with Boston so far during the first 12 games. Boston is looking for that spark on defense and O’Gara may be it.
Roster Position
The most likely spot for O’Gara to end up is the third pairing. Now that may seem bad, however, the Bruins run three d-pairs more than other teams. O’Gara gains the much-needed NHL experience from his ice time. Hopefully, he is not just here for one game as that would be useless. It would not help him in any way possible. In fact, it would most likely hurt him mostly his confidence. O’Gara should be a better fit than the newly acquired Paul Postma. Not only does O’Gara seem to have a bit more overall skill, he has more upside.
O’Gara a 24-year-old selected by the Bruins in the fifth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Tonights Game
Boston will face the Minnesota Wild at home. The game will be aired on NESN and broadcast on 98.5 the sports hub.