Taylor Hall appears to have recalled how to play hockey since being moved from the Buffalo Sabres to the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline. Hall had two goals and three points in the first round of the playoffs, when the Bruins defeated the Washington Capitals in five games, after putting up 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 16 games with the Bruins during the regular season.
«Obviously, he's a player that we're going to have to key on a little bit, just be aware of where he is on the ice because he's a gamebreaker,» Islanders center Mathew Barzal said Friday, per NHL.com.
The Isles have noticed how Hall changed his game and the game as he joined the Bruins : even head coach Barry Trotz has warned his players about the veteran forward and the boots he's given Boston.
«I think bringing a Taylor Hall at the trade deadline, that gave them a resurgence,» Trotz said. «And Taylor came in and that line clicked for whatever reason and they started producing and I think that just eased everything off with their team.»
The Islanders will be all over Hall starting on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Second Round series, which opens with Game 1 in Boston on Saturday.