The book has been out on the Bruins’ power play when the usually potent man advantage hits a snag or two.
Throughout the 2021 season, Bruce Cassidy has routinely harped on the same two things — pressure and entries — as the root causes of many a failed O-zone possession when the opposition is down a skater or two.
Even without Torey Krug serving as the playmaking maestro up high or at the half wall these days, Boston’s top power-play unit still has more than enough firepower to dissect and dice up and even the most stout defenses — at least when given the time and space to set up in their usual spots (Patrice Bergeron at the bumper, Brad Marchand at the half wall, David Pastrnak at the left circle).
So, naturally, the best bet for most PK units when it comes to combating Boston is to naturally do everything it can to prevent the B’s big guns to get set up in the O-zone — whether it be stacking bodies up along the blue line or pressuring puck carries in hopes of forcing an ill-advised pass out of danger.
It’s clear the Capitals have also done their homework when it comes to crafting its fifth-ranked PK to frustrate Boston, with Boston limited to just eight shots on goal in its first 10:23 of power-play ice time in Games 1 and 2.
"Power play, the biggest issue for us is handling their pressure,” Cassidy said of the Caps’ PK. “We've talked about different areas where we can do a better job supporting the puck. ... We know that (the pressure) is coming.”
A change was likely needed in terms of that top unit — not in terms of strategy per se, but in personnel.
When it comes to potential additions to that top unit, it might seem like the guy that checks all of the boxes is their top deadline pickup in Taylor Hall.
Whether it be his finishing ability (as seen below during one his few times up with the top unit) or, perhaps most importantly, his proficiency in terms of gliding through the neutral zone and gaining clean entries with the puck on his stick, Hall offers plenty of value to any special-teams unit he's on.
But with Hall having limited reps with that top unit during the season, Cassidy has largely been hesitant to bump him up from the second PP grouping — keeping the winger with a few familiar faces such as Craig Smith on PP2.
Instead,
Cassidy opted to shuffle up his top unit by swapping out Matt Grzelcyk and Nick Ritchie for a pair of familiar faces in David Krejci and Charlie McAvoy.
Boston’s second line pivot may not be as dynamic as Hall on the man advantage, but Krejci’s familiarity with the system that the usual suspects like Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak run does give the center the edge in this situation.
“Without Hall being here for an extended period of time, they didn't have a ton of time to work together,” Cassidy said. “Wasn't much practice time as you know after the deadline. So we just decided to load up, make it simple. Those guys have been together. They were good in the playoffs last year against Tampa. … It's still those four guys that drive it down low.”
But beyond just familiarity, the addition of Krejci (a right shot) as opposed to Hall (a left shot) could open up a lot more options for a B’s power play that’s stuck in neutral far too often.
With Krejci operating on a top unit that features three other right shot skaters in Bergeron, Pastrnak and McAvoy — the playmaking pivot has plenty of options with the puck on his stick.
“With Krejci on his strong side, he's just got so many options,” Cassidy said. “He'd drop off to Marsh forehand to forehand and maybe a bumper play to Bergy or backdoor to Pasta. He's got the seam to pass and play in to Bergy in the bumper or a shot threat. He can go behind the back to up top to Charlie. So all one-timers are in play.
"It's a little bit like Winnipeg when they had Laine, Wheeler, Scheifele— kind of three (right shots) in a row there — it was real tough to defend.”
While this revamped power-play unit failed to cash in on a crucial 5-on-3 situation early on in Game 3, they did finally break through in the third period off of a Marchand tally that forced overtime — with Krejci (operating up high) starting the play off by hitting McAvoy in stride.
With a Caps skater drawn out to Krejci in case the center fired off a shot, a passing lane opened up down low, giving McAvoy a chance to feed Bergeron in the bumper. The Grade-A shot from Boston’s captain didn’t beat Ilya Samsonov, but the fluttering puck was promptly batted home by Marchand to even up the score at 2-2.
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Even with the early hiccups, Wednesday’s win stood as a step in a right direction for Boston’s power play — which managed to generate 10 shot attempts and five scoring chances on the man advantage on their five bids.
The addition of Krejci isn’t an be-all, end-all when it comes to quick fixes on PP1 — especially against a Caps PK that will still do what it can to pressure either Krejci or McAvoy up high — but if Krejci can carry the puck over the blue line cleanly, he should have a number of weapons at his disposal when it comes to choosing where to feed the puck on the man advantage.