Better results at the faceoff dot
Boston always seems to be near the top of the league in faceoff percentage. This wasn’t the case in the game against the Leafs.
The Bruins went 23-26 at the faceoff dot on Saturday, good for a 47% success rate. Toronto isn’t exactly a strong faceoff team, so they Bruins simply need to be better.
Patrice Bergeron is Boston’s best faceoff option. Actually, he’s one of the best options in the entire league. Bergeron’s career percentage is 58.2%.
Bergeron won 12 out of 23 draws against Toronto. This was a majority, but it did remain below his career average. With the last chance at home, expect Bergeron to be much better on Tuesday.
Charlie Coyle had an especially rough night at the faceoff dot. He only won three out of his 10 draws. The Bruins definitely need Coyle, who will likely be their second line center again, to be better on faceoffs.
Faceoffs may seem unimportant and uneventful, but they do impact a game. Maybe you can’t win a game with faceoffs, but you certainly can lose one.
Teams that win faceoffs, as you can imagine, typically see more of the puck. Puck possession, especially for a team like Boston, usually leads to good things on the ice.
If the Bruins dominate puck possession against a team like Toronto, they’ll win the game. It’s that simple. And faceoffs are one of the keys to possession.