Bruins Need to Kick This Bad Habit
The Boston Bruins enter tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres looking for a seventh straight win and their third consecutive over the Sabres in the last four days.
Things have been going pretty well lately for the Black and Gold. They have beat two of the three teams ahead of them in the East Division standings, while taking care of business so far against the last-place Sabres.
Boston has won games in shootouts during their streak, as well as winning blowouts and close games. There has been one issue that has been concerning for the Bruins and it’s something they need to clean up as the regular season winds down and the playoffs are a couple of weeks away.
Bruins need to stay out of the penalty box.
The Bruins own the league’s top-ranked penalty kill, but in the last four games, they have been playing with fire when it comes to giving the opponent power play chances.
That was never more evident than Thursday night in the Bruins 5-1 win over the Sabres. They were called for four second period penalties, but they were lucky the Sabres were not able to cash in on any of their opportunities.
The problem with having a parade to the penalty box is that some of your top penalty killers are your top players. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are the top two penalty-killing forwards, which over time can take its toll on them late in games. Yes, they have combined for six shorthanded goals, but talk about using senseless energy because they can’t stay out of the box.
For most of the season, the Bruins have been a disciplined team, which is something they need to get back to the rest of the season. Having Marchand and Bergeron kill five, six or seven penalties a game is not going to be good in the long run.
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Despite having the top-ranked PK, staying out of the penalty box and getting back their disciplined ways is what they need to do and kick the penalty bad habit. The Sabres might not make you pay for going to the box, but the other three teams ahead of you in the standings will over time.