Nothing has plagued the Boston Bruins more this season than their poor execution on the power play.
Boston has ranked near or at the bottom of the league all season and is currently 30th, having converted on just 13 percent of its power play opportunities thus far.
From changes to their strategy and to their personnel, the Bruins have tried a lot of different ideas, hoping to find a spark of any kind on the man advantage. But as they enter the New Year, they seem to be out of new ideas.
Resigned to their reality, the Bruins will recycle the same units that have looked uninspired and, at times, incompetent tonight against the New York Rangers.
“I’m pretty confident that we’re going to get a turnaround with that group,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco told reporters this morning in New York. “Anytime things aren’t going the way you want them to, you have to make some changes. You can’t stand still, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The Bruins had experimented with some different power play alignments over the last few games but took a seemingly impossible step backward with a horrendous showing on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.
Now, Boston’s top unit will once again feature David Pastrnak playing alongside Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and Charlie McAvoy.
“We have a job to do today,” said Pastrnak. “We have to capitalize on the power play. You don’t have to score every time, but we’re going to make sure we create momentum for our team.”
The top unit has held the Bruins back all year. Between its five players, it’s scored a combined eight goals. Pastrnak has contributed half of them.
Although it’s not a high bar to clear, the second unit, which tonight will consist of Charlie Coyle, Morgan Geekie, Justin Brazeau, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Mason Lohrei, has been much more reliable, even with less ice time.
In the 23 games prior to Sacco shaking up the units last Saturday, the Bruins scored nine times on the power play, with only three of those goals coming from the first unit.