The Boston Bruins continue to have a problem that’s going to haunt them fatally in the Stanley Cup playoffs if it isn’t properly addressed.
It’s not the 5-11 record in overtime after they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night at Rogers Arena while monumentally blowing a two-goal lead in the final 20 minutes of the game. After all, there will be no 3-on-3 overtime in the postseason so that’s more of a regular-season problem than a future playoff headache.
But the inability to maintain third-period leads is a big-time concern that brings back bad memories of last spring’s first round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers. It also conjures up major issues the B’s have had this season while trying to prevent other teams from scoring on them when the goalie is pulled.
The Bruins are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens with an NHL-high eight goals allowed with the goaltender pulled this season.
Credit Ty Anderson with coming up with this stat, the Bruins are 25-1-7 in games when leading after two periods this season, which is a .758 winning percentage that ranks 27th in the NHL ahead of only the Coyotes, Islanders, Blackhawks, Sharks and Blue Jackets.
The Bruins are now 25-1-7 when leading after two periods this season. That .758 winning percentage ranks 27th in the NHL. Only the Coyotes, Islanders, Blackhawks, Sharks, and Blue Jackets have been worse.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 25, 2024
Anytime you are lumped in with those NHL weak sisters, it is a very bad thing indeed if you have high playoff expectations.
The two goals allowed in the third period, including another goal surrendered during a 6-on-5 with the opponents’ goalie pulled, once again had the Bruins shaken, rattled and rolled after it was all over.
“It’s not acceptable that we don’t close that game when we’re winning 2-0 in the third [period],” said Jim Montgomery to NESN following the loss. “There’s a lot of us that made mistakes. We win as a team and we lose as a team, and we’ll get better from this.”.
What are the problems behind the third-period collapses, and more importantly can they be fixed?
The common denominator in many of these late-game losses is the Bruins' inability to win defensive zone faceoffs at key moments in games.
It was Pavel Zacha that lost the faceoff leading to the first Vancouver goal, and then it was Zacha again during the 6-on-5 when Filip Hronek blasted one through traffic from the point. Charlie Coyle managed to win the draw in overtime following an inexcusable too many men on the ice penalty by blasting the puck all the way down to Thatcher Demko at the other end of the ice in the defensive zone, but by that point the Bruins had lost momentum and composure with the Canucks outshooting them 18-5 in the third period and overtime.
These are the small details that lead to losses in important, tightly contested games.
The Bruins are tied for 17th in the league with a 49.4 winning percentage in the faceoff circle, and they have managed to win 52 percent of their defensive zone draws this season. That number drops to a really troubling 46.7 percent in the offensive zone this season and really all points to the B’s badly needing a center capable of taking big draws at big moments late in games.
It doesn’t necessarily mean they need to trade for a No. 1 center while casting aside Zacha as a center option, but it does mean that they need to find a designated centerman that can take draws in big moments. It could be a veteran, or it could be a rookie like Johnny Beecher, who won 53.9 of his faceoffs overall at the NHL level and won 53.5 percent of his D-zone draws this season.
Compare that with centers like Morgan Geekie (42.9 percent success rate), Trent Frederic (45.7 percent success rate) and Jesper Boqvist (42 percent success rate) that have struggled overall in the faceoff circle, and others like Zacha that pretty clearly had issues against JT Miller and Elias Pettersen during crunch time against Vancouver.
Unfortunately this all serves as a big-time reminder of what the Bruins are missing when Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci rode off into the NHL sunset last summer.
Then there’s the mistakes chalked up to discipline, execution or coaching to some degree. The too many men on the ice penalty was about Jake DeBrusk jumping on too quickly as a gassed Brad Marchand headed to the Bruins bench with his arm raised calling for a change. That led to the overtime game-winning goal on a 4-on-3 advantage for the Canucks that would be the kind of mistake that leads to certain death in the playoffs.
Too many men do Bruins........#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/x4RXOKLNY0
— Boston Strong Brasil (@BostonStrongBR) February 25, 2024
“I just don't think we played the right hockey in the third period,” admitted Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. “From getting pucks north out of the [defensive] zone, to getting pucks behind them, playing the right style of game to kind of limit their chances, I don't think we did a good enough job at that.”
Carlo is right on all of those counts as the Bruins were simply trying to hang on rather than take the play to Vancouver, but this was also very clearly about a Bruins team that has some very real weak spots that will be exploited by good playoff teams if they’re not properly addressed before April.
ONE TIMERS
1. Interesting thoughts from Elliotte Friedman this week that the Bruins might have to entertain trading Linus Ullmark if they want to make a big move like landing Noah Hanifin, or somebody like St. Louis Blues defenseman stopper Colton Parayko. It’s not going to be easy getting the salary cap space to land any of those players, and they might not necessarily have the assets to get it done either. But teams like the Blues and Flames don’t need a goaltender, so how exactly is Ullmark going to help make all of this happen unless the B’s are preparing to make a barrage of trades ahead of the NHL trade deadline?
“One thing about Boston, I think they’re looking for a center, I think they’re looking for a defenseman," said Friedman. "They don’t have picks. I had a few people point out to me, the Bruins actually have players they can move. Now, there’s a lot of whispers about Ullmark. I’m really careful about this this time of year, because a lot of it becomes almost circumstantial evidence. Teams out there do believe the Bruins are trying to upgrade their roster. And all you have to do is look at what they are capable of and say it’s not coming out of the draft. Do they really want to deal their top prospects, some of whom have already played in the NHL? I don’t think so. So, if they want to make changes, it probably has to come off their roster, and that’s why I think people are looking at Ullmark. Now, I don’t think it’s impossible. He has some control. But the whole thing is, if the Bruins are trying to win the Stanley Cup, then why would you subtract from one of your greatest strengths? The only thing I can think of there is if they get something so good that they just feel they have to do it. But I’d be very curious to see what that would be.”
2. Love Danton Heinen and he’s brought this season on a veteran minimum contract, but it underscores just how much the Bruins need another forward to add to their mix when Heinen is playing top-6 wing minutes with guys like Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand. He’s got three points and a team-worst minus-5 in 10 games during the month of February and is much better served in a bottom-6 role with the Bruins where his two-way play and occasional offense is a much better fit.
3. Maybe you hate the Green Men because they represent the Vancouver Canucks, but watching JVR try to keep a straight face in the penalty box while they were gyrating around the glass absolutely cracked me up.
JVR trying not to laugh at the Green Men 🤣 pic.twitter.com/hH9fg9uog9
— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) February 25, 2024
And then watching them bust out the Eggo’s box with Trent Frederic was even better, even if the OT penalty that led to Vancouver’s game-winning goal was obviously no laughing matter for the Bruins.
People need to understand that the return of the Green Men to Vancouver is a moment in history pic.twitter.com/nezWwJY0YT
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) February 25, 2024
4. This college hockey brawl between Arizona State and the University of Anchorage was totally inappropriate for college hockey, particularly with the players leaving the penalty box to have a hockey fight right at center ice. The players are probably going to get suspended for the rest of the season. But I loved it and I am not going to apologize for it, dammit.
College hockey going all "Slap Shot" last night...don't hate it 👊 https://t.co/tc4Z12Cyfa
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) February 25, 2024
5. Sad Slap Shot times this week as Paul D’Amato, otherwise known as Tim “Dr. Hook” McCracken, passed away at the age of 74 years old. The Massachusetts native gained fame as one of the Syracuse Bulldogs brought in at the end of the movie to tangle with the Hanson Brothers and the rest of the Charlestown Chiefs and continued to pop up at hockey events through the rest of his long-acting career. McCracken actually played hockey at Emerson College by all accounts was the exact opposite of the dastardly Dr. Hook when meeting him in person. Condolences to all of his friends and family.