The Bruins’ New Year’s resolution? A clean slate on the power play

By Conor Ryan The Bruins akin to any motivated group set to enter the new year did almost all the right things at 5-on-5 play Tuesday afternoon against the Capitals.

Gifted a fortuitous bounce that let Justin Brazeau knock a puck into twine just 1:21 into the contest, the Bruins regularly funneled pucks around Grade-A ice in hopes of putting Washington goalie Logan Thompson under duress.

The result? Thirteen high-danger scoring chances for the Bruins over 49:40 of 5-on-5 reps.

Boston has had only five games over its first 39 outings this season where it generated more quality looks.

But just like the several bad habits that snowball into a spring of spoiled resolutions, those positive O-zone shifts meant little for Boston on Tuesday given the still evident flaws in the Bruins offensive approach.

For all of Bostons efforts to put Thompson and the Caps on the ropes, it didnt steer the Bruins away from a disappointing 3-1 defeat.

A lack of finish on those scoring chances looms large, but Bostons season-long slump on the man advantage has lingered as the true back-breaker on a team now 27th in the league in goals scored per contest (2.62).

Bostons inability to cash in on the man advantage has played a large part in that cellar-dwelling status as far as finding twine.

The Bruins are currently operating with a 13 percent success rate on the power play, 30th overall in the NHL.

The days of the Bruins routinely rolling out a top-five power play with the likes of Patrice Bergeron directing traffic at the bumper and Torey Krug uncorking howitzers from the blue line are a thing of the past.

Still, the Bruins should have the personnel in place between Brad Marchand on the half wall and David Pastrnak at the left circle to elevate Boston well beyond a 30th-ranked unit through the first three months of the new season.

For all of the talk of the apparent regression that seemingly plagued Boston last year on a 14th-ranked power play last season (22.2 percent), this current iteration of misfit playmakers would welcome that seemingly pedestrian production.

Its a dip in standards that has left Charlie McAvoy puzzled across multiple junctures this year.

Its certainly been a difficult year.

...

Now were changing it up, were trying to find groups of five that might work better together.

...

Hopefully this small sample size, we can just wash and well get better with each other, McAvoy said.

Were trying to compete with each other.

We got to be good for the team.

So I dont care whos out there, like whatever five is out there, we got to help.

We got to get shots.

We got to get chances.

We gotta make it where, after the power play is over score or dont score that we can take some momentum from it.

As noted by McAvoy, the Bruins have made drastic changes of late in hopes of sparking competition among both units.

Interim head coach Joe Sacco has rolled out Pastrnak and Marchand on separate units over the last few games, with Mason Lohrei not McAvoy given the keys to the blue line on a top grouping with Pastrnak.

But the results on Tuesday left a lot to be desired for power-play personnel looking for any semblance of a spark.

Boston failed to cash in on their two opportunities on the power play, generating just one scoring chance over those four minutes.

The Bruins second bid on the power play was particularly disastrous in the closing minutes of the second period.

After Jakob Chychrun was whistled for a trip against Marchand at 15:11 in the period, Bostons next shot on goal came ...

at 0:33 in the third.

It was a frustrating result as Boston tried to claw back from a 2-1 Caps lead a familiar scenario for a Bruins team that was once buoyed by a power play capable of erasing deficits in short order.

You dont score.

Then that frustration happens.

Then it just continues, McAvoy acknowledged.

And honestly, its been a source of frustration for the entire year, for a lot of guys.

So its kind of been like a roller coaster, and not letting it affect the five-on-five play.

But heres where we are now, and we got to be professionals.

So we need to make sure that were holding ourselves to a high standard.

While Bostons overall team defense and knack for generating high-danger looks have improved under Saccos simplified approach , Bostons power play has remained stuck in neutral since the teams coaching change.

At the time of Montgomerys firing, the Bruins were dead last in the NHL with a power play cashing in on just 11.7 percent of its chances.

Since Sacco has taken over, the Bruins have improved ...

with a 15-percent showing on the man advantage over its last 20 games.

Better, but not nearly good enough.

We need to execute better on our entries, Sacco said I think it starts there and then when were in zone, we need to get tighter to the net right now.

I think thats part of it.

Obviously, we need to improve that area of the game for our team.

For all of their offensive woes, the Bruins still sit in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 20-15-4 record, as of Tuesday afternoon.

But in a season where the Bruins have regularly been averse to making life easier on themselves, a refocused power play would be a welcome sight entering the unofficial start to the second half of the NHL calendar.

In McAvoys eyes, the talent is there.

As is the emphasis on simple, smart plays that has led to more looks at 5-on-5 plays.

But regaining confidence on those units? Like every New Years resolution, its an undertaking easier said than done.

All we need is one game, two games, where we get looks, McAvoy said.

Now youre just playing.

Confidence is a funny thing.

A little bit of it goes a long way.

Conor Ryan Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning.

Be civil.

Be kind..

This article has been shared from the original article on boston, here is the link to the original article.