Boston Bruins: 3 Keys to Victory Against the Pittsburgh Penguins

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: Head coach Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins handles bench duties against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Bruins 1-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: Head coach Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins handles bench duties against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2021 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders shut-out the Bruins 1-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 15: Tristan Jarry #35 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 15, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Penguins 5-2. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 15: Tristan Jarry #35 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 15, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Penguins 5-2. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

1. The Boston Bruins will need to test goaltender Tristan Jarry with shots early and often.

Heading into this past off-season, the Penguins found themselves in a familiar situation as they had to make a choice between which of two goalies would be the future of the franchise.

Following their second Stanley Cup in a row in 2017, the Penguins decided that Matt Murray was the future between the pipes and allowed Marc-Andre Fleury to be selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.

Following three up-and-down years from Murray, this past offseason the Penguins elected to trade Murray to the Senators and to rely on Tristan Jarry as the netminder going forward.

While Jarry certainly earned the starting job with his stellar play last year, he has struggled to start this season with a .821 save percentage and a 5.28 goals against average through his first three starts of this season.

While his struggles are likely to end at some point, this early-season funk may make him ripe for the picking for a Boston offense that is currently second in the league with 35.3 shots on goal per game.

Next. Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak takes next step in return, more from Monday’s practice. dark

The Bruins should be focused on getting shots on goal early and often to test Jarry and take advantage of his early season woes.