Boston Bruins: Top three ways to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning
The Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning square off for the first time this season. This will be the first big test of the season for the Bruins.
The Lightning return with virtually the same team that finished with 128 points last year. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman lead the way. Brayden Point is also back from injury.
Even with all that talent, Tampa Bay did not get off to a great start this season. The Lightning are only 3-2-1 in their first six games. Nevertheless, Tampa remains the favorite to win the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins will have their hands full with Tampa on Thursday night. How can Boston protect their home ice with a win against the Lightning?
Keep Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point under control
Lightning coach Jon Cooper doesn’t hold anything back with his forward lines. He usually takes his best three forwards and plays them together on the top line.
Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point are a challenge for any defense. And the results prove it.
Stamkos and Kucherov each already have eight points in six games. Point, who only played three games this year, has two goals and an assist. It’s safe to say the trio is a threat to score on every shift.
Given this production, the Bruins can’t really expect to keep Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point off the scoresheet. There’s simply too much talent to handle.
Instead, the Bruins have to limit their impact on the game. They might get a goal, but the Bruins need to make sure Stamkos and Kucherov don’t go off for three points.
This is obviously easier said than done, but Boston has the defense and goaltending to make it happen.
Look for Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy to handle Tampa’s top line. Chara has the size, strength, and experience to match up with Stamkos and Kucherov. He’ll need to close their space in the defensive zone and be physical in front of the net.
The Bruins will rely on McAvoy to lead the breakout and start the transition game. He needs to be the one who retrieves pucks and makes that first pass to start the attack.
The responsibilities won’t be easy for Chara and McAvoy. Fortunately, they have strong goaltending to back them up.
Stay out of the penalty box
A team with the likes of Stamkos, Kucherov, and Point is bound to have a great power play. That’s certainly the case with the Lightning.
So far, the Lightning power play has five goals in 16 chances: an 31.25% success rate. This is tied with the Bruins for fourth-best in the league.
Stamkos leads the way with two power play goals. Kucherov has one goal and one assist on the power play.
The Lighting usually roll with Point, Kucherov, and newcomer Pat Maroon on the first unit. Point and Kucherov move the puck to set up plays, while Maroon wreaks havoc out front.
Hedman stays at the top on the offensive zone, and Stamkos hangs in his customary shooting position.
Stamkos is the key to it all on the power play, so he’s the player on whom Boston must focus. He occupies the role that Bruins fans see with David Pastrnak. He lines up high in the zone to the right of the goalie, and he readies himself for one-timers.
The Bruins penalty killers need to be weary of Stamkos in this this position. They must clog up passing lanes and limit Stamkos’s space whenever necessary. If not, Stamkos is a threat to score, regardless of who stands in net.
The best thing for the Bruins to do, however, is to stay out of the penalty box entirely. That’s the only way to ensure that the Lightning power play won’t strike.
Take advantage of power play opportunities
The Lightning may have one of the best power plays in the league, but their penalty kill is a weakness.
Tampa Bay only killed 17 out of 23 penalties in the first six games. This 73.9% rate is below the league average.
If the Bruins want to win the game, they need to capitalize on their power play opportunities.
The Bruins, like the Lightning, have a dominant top power play unit. Brad Marchand functions as the main playmaker, while Pastrnak handles that Stamkos role.
Pastrnak remains the main option on the power play, but Jake DeBrusk can be a big factor against Tampa.
Tampa’s best defenders aren’t overly-physical. Hedman and Ryan McDonagh are great players, but they aren’t always aggressive in one-on-one battles. DeBrusk therefore has the chance to do some damage if he establishes positioning out front.
This will be especially useful against a goalie like Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasilevskiy is one of the premier goalies in the league, so the Bruins have to make life difficult with him with traffic out front.
DeBrusk will be an important piece to the top power play unit in the game against Tampa. He doesn’t have a goal yet this year, but he could very well find himself on the scoresheet soon.
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We’ll see a ton of talent on the ice Thursday night at TD Garden. Marchand, Pastrnak, Stamkos, and Kucherov are only a few of the names who will do battle. If the Bruins limit Tampa’s top players and win the special teams matchup, they’ll be the ones who leave with a victory.