The Boston Bruins have leaned on their power play this season, and it has been one of their greatest strengths.
Entering the Olympic break, the Bruins’ power play ranked third in the league. They had scored on 44 of their 167 opportunities (26.3%) and averaged 0.77 power play goals per game.
In the eight games since, the Bruins have converted on four of 28 opportunities (14.3%), which ranks 26th in the league. But they have also allowed two shorthanded goals, bringing their goal differential down to plus-two.
Last weekend, Pavel Zacha scored power–play goals in both Bruins games. Even after that glimpse of the old power play, Marco Sturm knew there was still work to do.
“Yeah, we’re not there yet,” Marco Sturm said about the power play last week. “I know we scored (Saturday), but the flow was a little bit missing, too. That’s part of the power play. Sometimes you get in those little stretches. But as soon as you are going to score one or two or even have a good one or good two power plays [to] get things going right away, the other way.”
The Bruins finished 1-for-6 on the power play against Washington last Saturday, 1-for-3 against Pittsburgh on Sunday. They have not scored on the man-advantage since.
And Collin Graf potted a shorthanded goal on Thursday night.
“Yeah, I think it’s just got to be direct,” Marco Sturm said about the power play on Thursday night. “We got to have that attitude, the shooting mentality, kind of going towards the net. It’s just sometimes a little slow. I think the last few games, it got a little bit better, but again, more on the outside than inside. We wanted to be more on the inside (Thursday). We did it once or twice, but that’s about it.”
Everyone on the top power play unit has recorded a point on the power play since the Olympic break, but none have more than three.
“We still score, maybe not as often,” Marco Sturm said before the Bruins departed for their three-game road trip on Friday. “We see it, too; the flow is a little bit missing. That mindset and also that little bit of cockiness, you know, being on the power play and making plays, is missing. That’s something every team goes through, but yeah, we just got to make sure it’s not going to be like that at the most important time.”
“We have to turn it around,” David Pastrnak said after practice on Friday. “Obviously, it’s a big part of our game, and we’ve won so many games because of it, you know, before the break.”
Steve Spott came to Boston with a long history of running power plays. He has worked alongside Pete DeBoer with some elite talent on the ice. Over the past three seasons in Dallas, Spott’s power play converted 23.7% of the time and finished inside the top six twice.
“Spotter (Steve Spott) does a good job, all year long,” Sturm added after Friday’s practice. “And he’s doing it again, trying to work with them. See what we did before and what we need to do. Again, those are our top guys, and at the end of the day, they have to get it done.”
Sturm mentioned the top guys needing to step up after the Bruins’ loss on Thursday.
On the other side of the special teams, the number of penalties the Bruins committed was holding the team back at the break. It was not supported by the penalty kill.
That has changed in the last eight games. The penalty kill has killed 18-of-21 (85.7%) and ranks seventh since the break. The 21 times shorthanded is tied for the 18th most in that span.
“First of all, the players buying in [to] what we try to do,” Marco Sturm said about the penalty kill. “Because we changed, definitely something, and the goal is to get things going right away. It was not easy, because guys were at the Olympics and you only have a few practices. So our practice is actually the game.”
The two sides flipped. The power play was guiding the Bruins before the break; now it is the penalty kill.
The Bruins will head on the road for a game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon. They have not won on the road since January 17 (0-3-4).
“We have good sequences on the road,” David Pastrnak said after practice on Friday. “The Pittsburgh game, for example, like we’ve been playing well, then we just make mistakes and let the teams get back to the game. So it’s not like we’re not playing good hockey. It’s just more mistakes. Dialed in, focus more on the details for the full 60, 65 minutes, whatever it takes.”
The Bruins are sitting in the second wild card spot, but not comfortably. The Blue Jackets are one point behind them, and the Red Wings are one point ahead.
Nikita Zadorov said that it is up to the Bruins; they cannot rely on help from other teams. The upcoming road trip provides the Bruins with an opportunity to reignite the power play and fix the road troubles.
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