The Boston Bruins lost 4-3 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday night. The bad news is that the Bruins failed to pick up two points. The good news is they have a chance for immediate retribution.
The Boston Bruins play the Maple Leafs again on Tuesday night. This time, the two teams meet at the TD Garden. The Bruins didn’t play poorly in Toronto on Saturday, but there are some things they need to correct in the rematch:
More consistency from the first power play unit
The Boston Bruins had three power play opportunities against Toronto. They did score on the last one, but the power plays didn’t look great overall.
The first power play unit in particular had some struggles.
Boston got the first opportunity on the man advantage early in the second period. This was an excellent chance for the Bruins to erase Toronto’s one-goal lead.
Unfortunately, the first unit failed to produce many chances. In fact, the unit had a difficult time maintaining possession in the offensive zone.
Torey Krug had a couple turnovers in the neutral zone that ruined zone entries. These turnovers also resulted in easy clearances for Toronto’s penalty killers.
The second power play was as sluggish as the first one. Boston’s top forwards couldn’t generate much of anything with the man advantage.
Finally, the Bruins broke through on their third and final power play chance of the night. But, it was the second unit, not the first unit, that scored. Danton Heinen got the goal for Boston.
Toronto isn’t a strong penalty-killing team. The Leafs only killed 23 out of 29 penalties so far this season. Boston’s top unit should get chances on Tuesday night. If they do, they need to capitalize.