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BRIGHTON — The Boston Bruins have been nothing short of miserable when it has come to scoring with a five-on-four advantage this year.
Having found the back of the net on just 12 percent of its chances through 25 games, Boston is the not-so-proud owner of the second-worst power play in the NHL.
After more than a month and a half of waiting for things to suddenly begin clicking, the Bruins are considering making a massive mix-up to both of their man-advantage units.
“We’re having struggles with it right now, so we want to make sure that we’re covering all our bases,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said Saturday at Warrior Ice Arena. “We want to see players in different spots and see how we look today in practice. We’ll judge it after and make an assessment to decide what we want to do moving forward.”
The most significant change is the separation of David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, who have been staples alongside each other on Boston’s top man-advantage unit all season and for the past number of years.
Now, Pastrnak is set up to play on a unit with Justin Brazeau at the crease, Pavel Zacha in the middle, and Charlie McAvoy at the point while he and Morgan Geekiea are positioned out at the faceoff circles.
Meanwhile, the other unit features Trent Frederic at the net front and Charlie Coyle occupying the bumper, while Elias Lindholm and Marchand man the wings, and Mason Lohrei controls everything from up top.
Bruins power play units:
Frederic
E. Lindholm – Coyle – Marchand
LohreiBrazeau
Pastrnak – Zacha – Geekie
McAvoy— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) November 30, 2024
“It’s just really to break it up and maybe put two competitive groups together,” said Sacco. “Sometimes, when you have that competition amongst yourselves, it makes for guys getting out there and challenging each other more.”
The Bruins seemed to have a breakthrough last week when they scored a power-play goal in three straight games but have since failed to convert in any of their last three on a combined six opportunities.
Friday night’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was especially as the power plays’ shortcomings on three opportunities prevented the Bruins from building on top of an early first-period lead, as they ultimately fell 2-1.
“We haven’t done a great job,” Marchand said. “Most of the really good power plays are not good in just the initial set but also on the second and third recoveries. Penalty kills are really good in that initial set. They keep us to the outside. You got to get it inside and around the crease to create opportunities.”
After operating at a by-no-means impressive but still respectable 22 percent clip last year, the Bruins have fallen into a formulaic routine whenever an opposing player has been sent to the penalty box. Penalty kills are easily able to predict when and where the Bruins are going to shoot from, and breaking that pattern is the first step of many toward giving the power play some actual power.
“The unpredictability part comes from more shots,” said Sacco. “I’ve said this before, it’s not just shooting for the sake of shooting, but the unpredictability comes when you break down a PK. When you shoot more, the rebounds come out, and there’s chaos in front of the net. The defensive team is trying to sort out their coverage, and they’re collapsing. It creates chaos, and that’s where we, as a power play, can start to find some openings, hopefully.”
The Bruins will host the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow afternoon at TD Garden for their Centennial Game. The game is scheduled to begin 4:15 p.m., but fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:45 p.m. for the start of the pregame ceremony.
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WNBA All-Star Game ratings paint a troubling picture
WNBA players sent a message to the league with T-shirts they wore ahead of the All-Star Game on Saturday night, but the ratings for the game did not exactly strengthen their stance. Prior to the All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., Caitlin Clark and other players warmed up in shirts that said “Pay us what you owe us” across the front. The message had to do with the current state of collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the WNBA and WNBA Player’s Association. Unfortunately for the players, the television ratings for the game were not very good. Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported on Tuesday that the WNBA All-Star Game drew 2.19 million viewers on ABC, which was down roughly 36% from a year ago. Last year’s game featured the WNBA All-Stars against the Team USA squad that was preparing to compete in the Summer Olympics in Paris. The dip in ratings is likely another example of the type of impact Clark has had on the WNBA. Although she was a team captain for this year’s All-Star Game, Clark did not play due to a groin injury. Clark played in last year’s game for the All-Star side, as she did not make the Team USA Olympic roster. Many fans were outraged that she was snubbed from the Olympic team, which added an element of intrigue to the All-Star Game. There is no way of knowing for certain whether more fans would have watched the All-Star Game on Saturday night had Clark played. It is a safe guess, however, especially when you look at some recent trends for the league.
Thorbjorn Olesen, Cristobal Del Solar tied for Canadian Open lead
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