If you are a Boston Bruins fan, you should have a good feeling to begin the 2024-25 season. The only two games they’ve lost have come to the Florida Panthers and they’ve won three games. There have been bumps along the way and a message has clearly been sent to the group.
The Bruins’ offense has struggled to start the season. In incredible fashion the Bruins’ fourth line of Mark Kastelic, John Beecher, and Cole Koepke have been the best, having 15 combined points and being a combined plus-26. The Bruins need more from their top guys, leading to head coach Jim Montgomery to scratch Morgan Geekie ahead of their game against the Colorado Avalanche. The move paid some dividends, as the second line played its best game of the season.
The other area that needed some improvement was the Bruins’ power-play unit. It has struggled to begin the season, but elevated itself against the Avalanche.
The Units That Struggled
Coming into the game against the Avalanche, the Bruins power play was dreadful. They were two for their last 18 attempts, good for an 11.1% success rate. The success rate was poor and so was their execution and what they did with the man advantage.
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Their zone entries were stagnant and when they did enter the zone, they didn’t execute anything and couldn’t muster up a quality scoring chance. The two goals they did score came from the low-danger areas of the ice.
Opposing teams did a tremendous job limiting the Bruins’ ability to get to the high-danger area of the ice. To make matters worse, the Bruins allowed two shorthanded goals. Something needed to be done, especially with the firepower on the units. You cannot keep wasting opportunities like that, as special teams can help make a difference in a hockey game. Needless to say, changes were made and it was inspiring.
The Bruins’ Power Play Breaks Through
The Bruins power play finally broke through and more than once against the Avalanche. They moved away from what was not working and made adjustments. Instead of trying to drop the puck back to the defenseman for zone entries, the Bruins sprung players into the zone and make things happen that way.
It was night and day what was occurring. Not only did they score a pair of goals, but it was how they scored the pair of goals that was…
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