Bruins left searching for answers after offense bottoms out against Flyers

By Conor Ryan Jim Montgomery might have said it best as he fielded questions on Tuesday night.

After yet another night in which Bostons already laboring offense dried up against a porous Philadelphia defense, the Bruins bench boss was at a loss.

I dont know, Montgomery declared when asked if the Bruins skaters are overthinking things in the offensive zone.

Its just, were not making plays.

Were not doing enough to generate high-danger scoring chances.

Whether thats a will to go to those areas or not the right game plan.

Were all culpable for not coming out with a victory tonight.

In a season where Bostons inability to put the puck in the net has snuffed out any hope of another strong start, Tuesdays 2-0 loss to the Flyers represented a new low.

Despite Montgomerys repeated pleas for stronger puck pressure and urgency , the Bruins once again spent significant stretches of Tuesdays game sleepwalking in the offensive zone.

Trailing 1-0 entering the final period of play, the Bruins landed just three shots on goal in the third period, losing to a Flyers squad that entered with a 2-6-1 record.

Boston currently sits at 26th in the NHL in offense with just 2.70 goals scored per game.

Its a multitude of things, Montgomery said of Bostons struggles in the offensive zone.

It seems like some guys are still fighting it, as far as their confidence and their ability to just be smooth with the puck on the ice.

Once a foundational strength of Bostons offense, the Bruins power play has eroded significantly in 2024-25.

Not only are the Bruins struggling to cash in on their opportunities (14.3 percent, 26th in the NHL), theyre not even putting pucks on net while up an extra skater.

The Bruins were granted four bids on the power play during Tuesdays loss, including a 5-on-3 sequence in the opening period that lasted 1:37.

Boston finished with just two total shots on goal on the power play, including zero during the standard 5-on-4 reps on the man advantage.

Be it players gripping their sticks or a lack of a shot-first mentality, the Bruins are doing little to make opposing PKs pay over these last few weeks.

Thats normal when youre struggling offensively, you kind of hold that stick, Hampus Lindholm said.

Usually when youre on a hot streak, you just take that puck and you snap it right away.

You dont really think.

This game comes much easier when youre just playing with your intuition out there.

At this point, it remains to be seen what exactly Montgomery and his staff can do as far as augmenting Bostons underwhelming forward corps.

A tweak to the top power-play unit could send a message, especially with Charlie McAvoy failing to add much urgency as the teams playmaker along the blue line.

Switching to a left-shot D like Lindholm or even a rookie like Mason Lohrei could add a bit more pace to that unit, especially when it comes to feeding clean pucks over to David Pastrnak for quality scoring chances.

Quicker puck movement, Montgomery said of the cure for Bostons ailing power play.

If you move the puck quick enough, and youre thinking shot first, theyre not going to be in shot lanes.

Theyre one less player, especially five on three, theyre two less players.

But the Bruins are limited at this point in terms of just what they can do with the personnel in place.

Montgomery has already tried just about every conceivable lineup combination during 5-on-5 action over Bostons first 10 games.

Its going to fall on the players themselves to generate more offense on the ice or a more seismic change spurred by management.

No ones gonna hand it to you for free in this league, Lindholm said.

Youre gonna have to work for it and you start it right by winning your battle, and go from there and take the puck to the net instead of trying to get that tap-in, because that doesnt happen this league.

Youre gonna have to work for it and get that mindset for everyone in here and do it as a team.

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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.

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