Bruins get the win, but Bruce Cassidy wants power play issues solved

The Bruins’ morning skate concluded Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena when coach Bruce Cassidy organized a power play “sit down” with the two special teams units. He conducted separate and lengthy conversations with each group.

First, it was Torey Krug, David Backes, Brad Marchand, Rick Nash and David Pastrnak. While that group engaged in power-play drills, the second group of Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, David Krejci, Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk listened to what Cassidy had to say. Then they jumped into drills.

Fixing the power play is a must. Boston was 2-for-32 on the man advantage as it entered Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Garden. Despite all the work and preparation, it didn’t get any better as the Bruins went 0-for-2.

It’s a terrible trend right now and it’s becoming the difference between winning and losing. Fortunately for Boston, it still found a way to pull off a 4-3 overtime victory over the Hurricanes, but it could have easily gone the other way.

“It’s disappointing that the power play, with our skill, can’t generate a little more,” said Bruce Cassidy. “The power play (struggles) have stretched out a little longer. The good thing is we’re a very good 5-on-5 team and that’s why we’re able to stay in games and win when you lose the special-team battle.



“There’s no doubt we’ve got to correct (the power play) because it’s a big difference-maker and we’ll work on it. Practice time is minimal but we’ve got to find time for it. We worked on it this morning to no avail and we’ll try again tomorrow.”

It doesn’t help that Patrice Bergeron is sidelined for at least the next two weeks, so Cassidy has been forced to tweak the two units. Backes has moved into Bergeron’s spot in the bumper position in the first unit. Marchand and Pastrnak have been flipped to their forehand side. Newcomer Rick Nash has always been a net-front presence player and will remain in that position with Boston.

“We’re trying some new stuff,” admitted Cassidy. “We’re going to have to come together.”

Cassidy believes it will eventually sort itself out.

In Buffalo on Sunday, the Bruins had a terrible time with their offensive-zone entries. There’s no reason a team should be offside on the power play, but when it is it’s just poor execution. When Boston did gain the zone, its shooting accuracy and selection weren’t efficient.

“There comes a time where execution and hitting the net has to fall on the individual,” Cassidy said. “We’ve had some trouble and let’s not try to pick the top corner. When things are going well, you think everything’s going in, but right now nothing’s going in. When you talk about getting back to basics, that’s (hitting) the net with our original shot.

“I’m not talking about aiming at the goalie’s crest, but hit the net with traffic in front. Let’s get some second-chance opportunities.”

Overall, the Bruins are 37-for-189 on the power play this season (19.6 percent), which ranks 18th in the league.

“The power play is such a big part of the game,” Marchand said. “It can win and lose games for you and that’s part of the reason we haven’t been as good lately because our power play has been struggling. We have to be able to score goals in tight games.”

In Toronto on Saturday, the Maple Leafs scored twice on the man-advantage while the Bruins went 0-for-2. Boston lost that game 4-3.

“If we would have stepped up and got one or two in that game we would’ve won, or at least been in it," Marchand said, "so we need to be better.”

When the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, their power play was terrible too. After the first three rounds of the playoffs, Boston was 5-for-61 on the man-advantage. In the finals against the Vancouver Canucks, the Bruins produced five power-play goals in seven games, but it wasn’t the reason they won the championship.

There’s no way the Bruins can get away with winning another Stanley Cup without a successful power play.

“It’s a completely different team. A completely different season and the whole league has completely changed since 2011,” Marchand said. “It’s more of a special teams league now than it was back then and it’s the way the game has gone with more skilled guys, speed, talent and goal scoring. Even the calls nowadays are different, so the power play is a lot more important now than it was back then. Even in the playoffs, it’s such a different game, so that’s a big reason why we need to be better in that area and hopefully we’ll get back to being the way we were before.”

The Bruins will be back at the drawing board again on Wednesday.