How a little bit of a ‘basketball mentality’ can help an improving Bruins offense shift into high gear

Bruce Cassidy and his staff can rest a bit easier these days. 

Short sample size aside, the Bruins’ O-zone production left quite a bit to be desired through the club’s opening slate of games, with Boston tallying three combined goals in matchups against Dallas and Arizona last week. 

Since then, as Boston’s big guns up front like David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand shake off the rust, the numbers have started to tick upward for the Bruins’ offensive output. Through its last three games, Boston is now averaging three goals per contest — not counting the two additional tallies that were wiped out by way of video review on Thursday in Denver. 

“Our offense is coming to form now in the last, I’d say, probably since Vegas,” Cassidy said following Boston’s 3-0 victory over New Jersey on Saturday. “Colorado was good, and tonight we certainly had good opportunities as well.”

A team with the offensive capabilities both in the top six and on the blue line was going to break through sooner rather than later. 

Still, there’s plenty of work to be done, especially when taking a closer look at a pair of B’s skaters that will be tasked with generating offense outside of the top six and on the man advantage. 



Throughout the 2018-19 season, 5v5 scoring was a thorn in the side of Cassidy and Co. In total, the Bruins ranked 19th in the NHL with 157 goals during 5v5 play — with the club relying on its potent power play on numerous occasions to keep it afloat.

But Boston could have a trump card this year when it comes to the continued development of Charlie McAvoy, who was a force during 5v5 play last season.

When it comes to 5v5 primary points (goals or primary assists), McAvoy's totals per 60 minutes rate of 0.92 actually ranked ninth overall among NHL defenseman that logged at least 500 minutes of 5v5 ice time. It's an awfully encouraging stat for a skater that still has only appeared in 122 games at the NHL level over two full seasons — but one that could make another jump if the 21-year-old blueliner opts to let more pucks fly towards the net.

While Cassidy has encouraged his defense to be more assertive in the O-zone when the opportunity presents itself, McAvoy is still more likely to bring the puck to the half wall and feed it into the slot than opt for a shot on goal. Last year, McAvoy's 4.31 individual 5v5 shots for per 60 minutes rate ranked 21st out of the 22 B’s players (min. 500 minutes played).

Once again, it's been a bit of a slow start for McAvoy this season when it comes to generating shots, as he's only landed four on net through five games played —  along with just eight shot attempts in total.



Given McAvoy's capability to both drive offense during 5v5 play and add a spark from the blue line, the Bruins have made a concerted effort to get the defenseman to let fly when the puck is on its stick. Even if the numbers in the early going this year don't entirely reflect much in terms of development, Cassidy is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt — especially given the amount of times that McAvoy has had to start down Boston's end of the ice (43.40 Off. Zone Faceoff%).

"Well, he hasn’t really attacked a lot offensively," Cassidy said of McAvoy. "Only he can answer that, but he’s playing against a top line every night, on the road. We’re trying to get that matchup — certainly get it at home. So maybe the flow of the game will help him. Not to be changing and him jumping on to get up the ice on time — coming off on a breakout, knowing that he’s got to get back out against the next line. Sometimes that happens on the road, kind of yanking guys on and off.

"You don’t get a feel for the offensive side as a defenseman. Power play — there’s opportunities to shoot there, we haven’t had a ton of (chances). We haven’t generated enough opportunities to go on the power play, as far as I’m concerned. That’s an area he can certainly add to that total. Maybe the puck just hasn’t followed him. That’s part of it, sometimes. You get into those roles where it follows you and you’re a little more confident to go in there."

Another Charlie in the B's locker room has been a bit more productive when it comes to shot volume — as Charlie Coyle has landed nine pucks on net through five matchups. But that shot total matches the same output generated from both Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo — two guys who aren't exactly known for peppering the net from deep.

As the driver of Boston's third line, Coyle isn't expected to be a sniper on that bottom-six unit, with the pivot relying more on his strength and size to keep the puck away from the opposition and extend O-zone time. But Cassidy believes more chances will fall in that line's lap if Coyle opts to bring the biscuit closer and closer to Grade-A areas.

When the perfect seam pass or shooting lane doesn't present itself, sometimes the best Plan B is to simply bring the puck down low and let the domino effect take place.

“Charlie has had good puck possession. Again, (on Thursday), he had (Samuel) Girard one on one and he choses to turn up instead of attacking," Cassidy said of Coyle. "Those are some things we want to build into his mentality, that that’s probably a good time where he could go to the net. Create on your own. A little bit of that basketball mentality. Take it to the hoop hard in those situations.

"(David) Krejci did that in the first period (against Colorado). … That’s kind of the message to Charlie sometimes. Even though he might not think it’s a high-percentage chance to score — if a defenseman feels his partner is going to get beat to the net, he’s going to try and help. So that help all of a sudden breaks down where he’s supposed to be. … That’s a bit of a sell job with Charlie. It can lead to something, even though it might not be the original play, but it can lead to a chain of events."

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It's a pair of cliched hockey phrases, no doubt. Get pucks on net and bring the puck to the dirty areas. But if both McAvoy and Coyle begin to adhere to these principles a bit more, an already improving B's offense has a chance to start doing some major damage.

It’s early," Cassidy said of McAvoy's shooting habits. "We have encouraged him. Ask me again in a couple weeks, play 10-12 games and if he’s still at those numbers, then we’ll have to dive into it a little bit more."