Boston Bruins: Flat offense dooms Boston against the Avalanche
By jc
The Boston Bruins couldn’t generate much offense all night long against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Boston Bruins took on the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in a game that promised loads of offense. Unfortunately, the Bruins did not hold up to their end of that promise.
Boston offense looked flat all night long and failed to generate much at all. Colorado took advantage and prevailed 4-1.
The Bruins actually jumped out to a first-period lead courtesy of a Chris Wagner goal. This seemed like the first time in forever Boston scored the first goal of a game.
That early goal was all Boston could muster, even after Colorado’s starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer exited with an injury. The Avalanche scored four unanswered goals, including an empty-netter, to leave Boston with two points.
Bruins struggle to put pucks on net through first two periods
How bad was Boston’s offense Saturday night? The Bruins finished with 20 shots on goal, but that was largely the result of third-period desperation. In reality, the Bruins struggled to get pucks on night for most of the game.
Seven Bruins players, including Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk, had zero shots on goal in the game. Only David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie McAvoy had more than two shots.
The Bruins entered the third period with fewer than 10 shots total on net. That’s not good enough against any team, let alone one with the talent of the Avalanche. No surprise that Bruins were in need of a major comeback once again in the third.
Boston’s power play looks lackluster in the third period
Boston also struggled big time on the power play. The Bruins had three power plays in the game, all in the third period. These power plays were the perfect chance for Boston to crawl back from a two-goal deficit.
Nonetheless, the Bruins found no offensive spark with the extra man, as they failed to score on all three opportunities. One of them was only 20 or so seconds, but still, 0-3 on the power play is a bad look.
For whatever reason, Boston’s top forwards looked passive on the power play. It seemed like they wanted to make the extra pass rather than fire a shot on goal. This is never good, and it’s even worse when the team’s down by a couple goals.
Next. Players come back from injuries. dark
The Bruins’ failure to generate much offense doomed them Saturday night against the Avalanche. Boston needs to kick its offensive gears in motion with a road trip on the horizon. Monday night against Ottawa looks to be as good a chance as any to start.