The Boston Bruins were not a good defensive team in the 2024-25 NHL season. The goaltending was subpar, too, highlighted by Jeremy Swayman’s career-worst campaign with the B’s.
But perhaps the biggest weakness that sunk the Bruins this past season was an inability to consistently score goals, both at even strength and the power play.
Re-establishing a strong, fundamentally sound defensive structure that’s hard to play against and getting Swayman back on track will be critical in the Bruins’ road back to prominence. But ultimately, teams have to score goals to win games.
The Bruins hired Marco Sturm as their 30th head coach in franchise history last week. One of his toughest challenges will be to improve the team’s scoring production.
“I think in the Bruins DNA is playing well defensively, that’s not going to change, but we have to find a way to be more productive offensively,” Sturm said Tuesday during his introductory press conference. “That’s going to be our goal and what we’re going to address from Day 1, and obviously special teams will be a big part, too.”
The Bruins not being able to generate enough offense didn’t just begin last season. It was an issue during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, too, especially in the second-round loss to the eventual champion Florida Panthers.
But the 2024-25 campaign was where it became a severe problem for an entire season.
The phrase “evolving offensively” was used several times during Sturm’s press conference Tuesday. What exactly does that mean? How does Sturm plan to ignite this struggling offense? A good chunk of it starts in the defensive zone by forechecking hard, winning battles, getting the puck up ice quickly and playing with speed.
“When I talk about scoring more goals, scoring goals is not just (playing) in the offensive zone,” Sturm said. “Yes, that’s where the puck is going to end up, but for me it always starts with: How are we going to get there? That’s a big part, too, not just focusing on one area. There’s areas we can definitely get better.
“It’s coming out with the puck. We want to have the puck more. We have to have better zone entries and not turn pucks over. I think that part was a big issue. In the offensive zone, we’ll put that structure in place, but we also have to be more hungry and we got to have a better mindset. … I want them to have that offensive mindset and mentality when we have the puck. We want to play with pace with and without the puck,…