The Boston Bruins needed to make defense a strength again. Everyone throughout the organization acknowledged that throughout the summer. It was one of the top items on new coach Marco Sturm’s to-do list. The returns of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm were going to help.
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So far, it’s not happening. Defense has been a major weakness instead. It’s the single biggest reason the Bruins have now lost seven of their last eight games, the latest of which was a disastrous 7-2 defeat to the Senators Monday night in Ottawa.
For the first time this season, the Bruins let a game really get away from them. The pushback and near-comebacks we’ve seen from them in several third periods this season were nowhere to be found Monday. Instead, the Senators piled up four goals in the third period to turn this into a laugher.
But the Bruins’ problems started before that. The reason they found themselves in a hole in the first place was because of the two goals they gave up in the second period, both of which came off the kinds of defensive mistakes that have just been far too common this season.
The game was tied 1-1 after one, but it took just 1:08 into the second for the Senators to take the lead. The Bruins’ top line was unable to pressure the Senators in the neutral zone, allowing them to enter the offensive zone with speed instead of forcing a dump-in. To cap it off, Elias Lindholm, late in a shift, failed to tie up Claude Giroux’s stick in front as he redirected a centering pass from Michael Amadio.
Later in the period, catastrophe struck deep in the Bruins’ zone. They should have been in good shape. They had four guys back to defend three attacking Senators. Charlie McAvoy successfully defended the initial rush from Lars Eller, riding him off the puck and into the corner.
Sean Kuraly swooped in to clean up the loose puck, but misplayed it. The Bruins still should have been fine. Mason Lohrei was nearby to offer extra support. Except, then he also misplayed the puck. All three Bruins went into panic mode and stayed below the goal line to frantically whack at the puck. None of them peeled off to cover the front of the net. Fabian Zetterlund, 1-on-3, won the puck and set up Drake Batherson in front for a backbreaking goal that made it 3-1.
These are the kinds of mistakes that just keep happening this season, and it’s hard to pinpoint why. Are they just mental mistakes from a lack of focus? Is it a lack of compete? Are certain players just not good enough to play stout defense? Are guys not grasping Sturm’s hybrid defensive-zone scheme?
After the game, Sturm once again suggested that not everyone is bought in right now.
“You gotta buy in or not,” Sturm told NESN after the game. “That’s right there, that’s the difference. If you just look at Ottawa today, they do it, and we’re not, and that’s the game.”
It’s the third time in the last week that Sturm has made a postgame comment along these lines. But when he was asked after Thursday’s loss to Anaheim how long he could stick with players who weren’t getting the job done, he dismissed the idea of any kind of roster shakeup.
So, if the Bruins aren’t going to change the players, does Sturm need to change the system? It’s a new one for this team, and they are clearly struggling to execute it right now. The Bruins have long played zone defense in their own end, but Sturm is trying to implement a hybrid system, one that has become more common across the league as teams try to imitate the Florida Panthers, who have mastered the concept en route to back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The idea is to still play zone down low, with the net-front in particular always covered. But when the puck is cycled up high, the defense switches to man coverage and applies more pressure on the puck than a zone scheme – which tends to sag off and not pressure the perimeter of the zone.
The Bruins are clearly having issues in coverage, though. The new system is an adjustment, which Sturm acknowledges. Right now, he is still preaching patience.
“These guys have been together for four to seven years,” Sturm said last week. “We’ve only been together for six or seven weeks. They never played a different system. Don’t forget that. I can get mad at those guys, my players, as much as I want. I am. But at the same time, I have to realize they’ve never played a different system. Never. So, you’ve got to be patient.”
How long that patience lasts is the question. The hybrid system isn’t for every team. The Montreal Canadiens tried to play it last year, but abandoned it just a few weeks into the season amid disastrous defensive results early on. Their switch to man-on-man defense helped propel them into the playoffs.
The Bruins are currently experiencing similar disastrous returns early on. They rank 29th in goals allowed per game (3.82). And while it can be easy and convenient to just blame the goaltending, both the eye test and the numbers make it clear that the defense in front of them is the far bigger issue. At 5-on-5 play, the Bruins rank 32nd in shot attempts allowed, 30th in expected goals against, 30th in scoring chances allowed, and 29th in high-danger chances allowed.
Individually, it’s both repeat offenders and new names on a seemingly nightly basis. Lohrei had the costly turnover on Ottawa’s third goal Monday as his defensive struggles continue. Nikita Zadorov, who has mostly been solid this season, took a costly stick penalty just eight seconds into the third period to set up an Ottawa power-play goal that all but put the game out of reach. The Bruins as a team continue to take far too many penalties – the most in the league, in fact. Their previously stellar penalty kill finally cracked Monday, surrendering four goals on five opportunities.
McAvoy, given his importance to the team, is perhaps the biggest disappointment defensively. He has now been on the ice for 14 goals against at 5-on-5, the most in the NHL. While those are not all on him obviously, he has certainly been involved in several critical coverage mix-ups, including the one on Ottawa’s third goal. McAvoy has also taken 11 minor penalties, which also leads the league. He took two in the third period Monday that led to power-play goals against as the Senators ran up the score.
Hampus Lindholm’s continuing absence does not help. He has now missed eight games with a lingering lower-body injury that was not initially expected to keep him out this long.
The Bruins will have to flush Monday night from their system quickly. They’re right back at it Tuesday night at TD Garden against the New York Islanders.