HARTFORD, Conn – After Tim Erixon had another strong game for the Connecticut Whale last week, including a personal North American pro best of three assists, veteran defenseman Brendan Bell offered kudos about how the Swedish rookie blueliner handled his reassignment from the parent New York Rangers.
“With young players, you’re here to learn, and it takes some time because (the AHL) isn’t an easy league to play in,” said Bell, who played one game with the Rangers after being signed as a free agent in the offseason and before being sent down a second time Oct. 25. “But you hone your craft and you bide your time, and the thing about Tim that’s been good is that he hasn’t been frustrated, he hasn’t pouted, he hasn’t done any of that stuff since he’s been here (Oct. 29). He’s just trying to learn and get better, and he’ll probably get there (the NHL) quicker because of that.”
Much the same about not pouting could be said for Bell, a healthy scratch on Nov. 13 at St. John’s, where he played his first two pro seasons. After sitting out a 4-3 loss to the IceCaps, Bell was reinserted into the lineup and made critical plays in three consecutive 3-2 victories in extra time.
First, Bell took a brilliant 80-foot lead pass from Mats Zuccarello, broke behind the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defense and made a nifty deke before slipping the puck between goalie Kevin Poulin’s legs for his first goal with the Whale with only 6.8 seconds left in overtime.
The following afternoon in Providence, Bell scored midway through a dominating third period to kick-start the Whale from a two-goal deficit to a shootout win on goals by veteran John Mitchell and rookie Carl Hagelin, who were called up Thursday and assisted on new linemate Brian Boyle’s winner in their Rangers debuts Friday, a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals. Mitchell then assisted on Hagelin’s first NHL goal in a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Three nights earlier against Portland, the Whale trailed by two goals late in the second period but rallied to win, as determined rookie Jonathan Audy-Marchessault scored a shorthanded goal with 1:11 left in regulation and then Bell picked up an Erixon rebound, patiently held the puck and slid a bad-angled shot past goalie Curtis McIlhinney with 1:39 to go in overtime to complete a hat trick of excellence.
It was a classic case of not getting upset about being benched, but responding to a challenge from coach Ken Gernander in as professional a manner imaginable.
“I knew things weren’t going very well for me, but it (sitting out) gave me a day to look at my game and try to get things going right,” said the 28-year-old Bell, who has been in 101 NHL games with Toronto, Phoenix and the Rangers and 387 AHL games with St. John’s, Toronto, San Antonio, Binghamton, Peoria, Syracuse and the Whale. “Maybe it gave me a little extra motivation, but I know in my own head that I just had to play better.”
Bell’s second overtime winner in five days helped improve his season totals to three goals and five assists, and being plus-4 in the three games after sitting out got him to even in the plus-minus rating in 13 games with the Whale. His eight points are tied for the team lead among defensemen with Erixon, who has one goal and seven assists in only 10 games since being reassigned on Oct. 29.
“I had a good chance early in the first period where (Zuccarello) made a really good pass backdoor to me, and I tried to take my time on that one, too, but (McElhinney) was kind of flopping and I hit the post,” Bell said after his overtime winner against Portland. “So this one I wanted to make sure that I really buried it. It was kind of a rolling puck, and it landed right on my stick. It was a wide open net, so I just took my time and tried to get it back there as quick as I could. … Things are kind of going my way right now. I didn’t have a very good game. I thought I could have been better. But the puck lands on my stick with a minute left in overtime with a wide open net, then I must be doing something right.”
Gernander agreed Bell has contributed on offense as he had hoped.
“Those are types of things that are strengths of (Bell): his offensive ability, his poise with the puck, he’s got good hands,” Gernander said. “There’s a lot in that package, and I guess that’s one of the areas where it has showed through.”
The overtime-shootout-overtime winning run made the Whale 3-2-0-1 when trailing after two periods. And they added to that impressive mark at Springfield on Saturday night, when Andreas Thuresson scored his second goal of the third period, off Stu Bickel’s shot and Ryan Bourque’s tip, with only 21.6 seconds left as the Whale rallied from a two-goal deficit to yet another 3-2 victory.
“I think that’s the good thing about having some older guys on your team,” said Bell, whose passion for hockey and appreciation for the NHL was reinvigorated while playing last season for EHC Biel in the Swiss League. “When you’re down a goal or when you’re pressing late, you can make plays. You can’t just fire pucks out. You can’t get nervous with it, and that’s the good thing about our club is having a bunch of older guys.
“When you’ve got some older guys and some talented guys, you’ve got to make plays with the puck. I think some of the guys have really taken charge later in games now.”
Especially Bell, named an alternate captain with Zuccarello when Wade Redden was injured and Kris Newbury suspended. Though Redden returned Friday night, Bell remained an alternate as a replacement for Mitchell. It shows what Gernander and assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller thought of the nine-year veteran. Gernander even used Bell on a few shifts at center Friday and Saturday nights because the Whale had only 11 healthy forwards, though Zuccarello moved from wing to the middle in the third period when Thuresson scored his two goals to pull out the win.
Bell’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by teammates.
“Good players want the puck,” said defenseman Blake Parlett, whose goal ignited the Whale’s comeback against the Pirates. “He has wanted it in overtime, made good plays and has gotten the win for us.”
Parlett also noted a recent Whale turnaround in the lead department.
“At the start of the year we’d go into the third period with the lead and have trouble holding it,” he said. “But the last couple of games it has been the total opposite. We’ve been going into the third (period) down, and we’ve just come together as a team and rallied back.”
Major beneficiaries of the turnaround have been goalies Chad Johnson (5-3-2, 2.63 goals-against average, .905 save percentage, one shutout) and Cam Talbot (6-3-0, 2.88, .891, one shutout).
“Obviously losing leads was addressed quite a few times because we gave up a few early on,” Talbot said. “But going forward, I think we knew it was more of a mental thing. We’d get up and then we’d just take the foot off the gas pedal a little bit, so it was just a mental standpoint for us that when we get third-period leads that we need to hold them. And when we’re down in the third period that has to be our best period to come back and either force overtime or win it in the third.”
Gernander said perseverance and tenacity have been the keys to the Whale’s recent comebacks.
“They’ve had an unwillingness to relent,” he said. “For the most part, you have to have that same desperation when you’re holding a lead, but it has to be directed differently. It has to be more sound decisions, as opposed to a more attack mode when you’re trailing. It’s a little bit easier to be tenacious when you’re behind. You don’t want to be laid back, but your efforts or energies have to be directed in a sense of momentum.
“You don’t want to change your game. You don’t want to sit back. You don’t want to be passive. But you still have to make sound decisions. There’s certain things that you’d like to see as a coach that the guys do, whereas you have a little bit of leeway or liberty to take some risks when you’re trailing.”
The Whale also has been helped by the maturation of Erixon, who has improved steadily, capped by assisting on all three goals in the win over the Pirates.
“Timmy is really stepping up, playing some big minutes with Redden and (Jared) Nightingale out of the lineup,” Talbot said after the Portland game. “He has filled in really well anchoring the power play and now getting some penalty kill time, too. I think he has really stepped into that PK role. He has been great for us since he’s been here, and he’s only going to get better. He’s just a young guy (20), and we’re looking forward to that for sure.”
By Bruce Berlet
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