Through four games in the 2026-27 season, the Boston Bruins have struggled in some areas, but maybe the most glaring area is on the power play. It might be just four games into the season, but the power play is a concern and it's reaching historic proportions.
For instance, they are 0-for-11 on the man advantage against the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Ottawa Senators. Some teams with more scoring talent can survive that stretch. The Boston Bruins, well, not so much. So, how are the Bruins going to try to fix the worst power-play numbers since 1977-78, when they went 0-for-9 in their first two games?
“Yeah, we played on the outside a lot,'' said Sturm, per Jack Studley of Boston Hockey Now. "If you want to start with zone, yeah, the breakouts too, but I think the biggest thing is in the zone, we’re just not direct enough. We didn’t have that intensity, the drive to play fast and also attack that net.
“I think Spotter (Steve Spott) had a good meeting this morning just to remind them again about the things we’ve done well, so hopefully those guys get clicking here pretty quickly.”
They need to get clicking quickly and start with the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night at the TD Garden. Part of the problem has been getting the puck into the zone, and part of the problem has been getting shots on net. You can't score if you can't enter the zone and shoot the puck. We'll see if they've figured things out on Thursday night.
Pavel Zacha headlines struggling second-line
If you made a list of Bruins players struggling to begin the season, you could put the Black and Gold's whole second line on that list. Casey Mittlestadt, Pavel Zacha, and Morgan Geekie have yet to find the back of the net. That isn't good for Zacha, as he is someone who looks like his time in Boston will be coming to an end sooner or later in a trade, as an extension is very unlikely. However, Zacha doesn't seem phased to have yet found the back of the net.
“You want to be that guy to help the team, but on the other hand, it's still start of the season,'' said Zacha, per Scott McLaughlin of WEEI. "I’ve played in the league for a while, so I know there's ups and downs with points.''
There are ups and downs; Zacha's right. However, in a contract year and likely to be on the move at some point, Zacha would benefit himself and the Bruins by starting to produce to raise his trade value for himself and GM Don Sweeney.
Ottawa's dominace over the Bruins
After Monday night's loss to the Senators at home, the Black and Gold are just 2-6-2 in their last 10 games with Ottawa. That's a less-than-ideal mark against a division rival. The good news is that the Bruins don't see the Sens again until January. The bad news? There are still three games against them before the season ends.
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