What you probably already know: After 20 games under the watch of Jim Montgomery, the Bruins switched to interim head coach Joe Sacco, winning the first two games after the change out. However, at this point in the season, fans are seeing a different side of the team than what they’re used to.
At the time of this press release, ESPN reports that the Bruins are the 2nd to last team in the NHL in goals per game, 5th to last in assists, 22nd in Penalty Kill percentage, 28th in points, and they hold the last place position for Power Play percentage. On the other hand, the B's currently take the top spot in penalty minutes, clocking in 251 so far this season. The first two Sacco-led games earned them a win, and their record now stands at 10-9-3.
So what does this mean?
What this means is the team and Coach Sacco have their work cut out for them. Whatever they were doing previously was not working, as evidenced by the firing of the 29th coach in franchise history, Jim Montgomery. Before Montgomery’s exit, the Bruins lost 4 of their last 5 games, which led the organization to take a second look at what was going on. Monty moved to St. Louis, and the Bruins reassessed with their new interim coach.
The majority of any game is dependent upon puck handling and possession. With weak offensive lines present, there seems to be a decrease in the goals scored by the B's. Without the puck handling necessary to provide a strong offense, you cannot score, much less win. As far as the defensive duos go, unexpected shots on goal by the opposing teams have lead to goals time after time against the Bruins. You cannot win a game with either a really strong offense, or a really strong defense. A game requires both. Puck handling leads to everything.
It has been proven several times in the past that other teams ganging up on our players tend to take away the win. Our defensive pairs can really alter the team’s morale. With the lack of a strong defensive pairing present to fight back, stronger teams overpower the Bruins. Any opposing team who studies the tapes will see that all they need to do to is put pressure on our strongest players, Marchand and Pastrnak.
We’re easy to game plan for. One of our players scores most of our goals, so keep a man scouting him all the time. Also watch our Captain. These two players combined have scored 14 goals this season out of the Bruins’ accumulated 51 goals. Other teams continuously apply pressure on us because the boys turn the puck over due to our poor puck handling, and the cycle continues. Pressure us mercilessly up and down the ice because we will inevitably turn the puck over.
The defensive duos must be stronger and make more of a presence. Faces incorporated into this season include Nikita Zadorov and Parker Wotherspoon, two additional players to watch, who are making a strong presence thus far in the season.
Regarding the defensive players stepping up, Coach Sacco stated, “I believe that we have D that wanna shoot. It’s just a matter of getting them ready for…for us. It’s a matter of getting them shot ready, be prepared to know that you’re gonna have two on the inside; you’re gonna be able to take away the goaltenders, so it’s not a big switch.”
In addition, this season is showing some promising forwards such as Mark Kastelic acting as a 200-foot presence, racking up several penalty minutes himself so far this season. Captain Marchand recognizes Kastelic’s talent by stating the following:
"Huge. That emotion and energy and physicality that he can bring. He changed the tide of the game. Got us feeling emotionally engaged, and you need that throughout the course of the year. Guys like him, you never really, truly understand how valuable they are. They’re the guys that really carry the team in the toughest times and in playoff time. You always see it — depth guys and those emotional guys. They have the ability to change the course of a game in a physical shift or a tough shift, and the way that he plays the game the right way — he’s a guy that we can look to be a leader and a guy that we can emulate with the way that he plays emotionally and wears his heart on his sleeve. He did a great job tonight."Brad Marchand, Captain, Boston Bruins
With the amount of talent this season of the Boston Bruins has collected, they remain a strong contender for the Cup playoffs. Sacco has proven twice now that he has a good eye on what it is going to take to get the team to where they need to be. Is this beginner's luck for Coach? Or are the B's on the verge of turning around their weaknesses to pull out several more W's to come? Stay tuned, Spoked-B nation!