After the Boston Bruins’ 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Morgan Geekie called his team’s play “embarrassing.” Apparently, his teammates agreed.
Twenty-four hours later, the Bruins turned in one of their best defensive efforts of the season in a 2-0 win over division rival and fellow playoff bubble team Ottawa.
Right from puck drop, the Bruins played with a pace and intensity that was nowhere to be found Wednesday. They closed quicker in the defensive zone to kill plays. They didn’t give up clean entries. They took the body and took away the front of the net. They won battles and foot races. They held onto the puck and took care of it in the offensive zone – as important a part of team defense as anything in your own zone.
After giving up three power-play goals on Wednesday, their penalty kill went a perfect 4-for-4, including killing off 32 seconds of a 5-on-3. Joonas Korpisalo, facing his former team, stepped up when called upon – especially on the penalty kill – to earn a 29-save shutout.
The top line stayed hot and provided just enough offense, with David Pastrnak setting up Morgan Geekie early in the second period for what proved to be the game-winner.
And unlike Saturday’s loss to these same Senators, when the Bruins surrendered two late extra-attacker goals to send the game to overtime, their 6-on-5 defense got the job done this time, capped off by Pastrnak stealing the puck from Thomas Chabot and sealing the win with an empty-netter in the waning seconds.
When it was all said and done, the Bruins had conceded just four 5-on-5 high-danger chances, the fewest they’ve given up in a game since Dec. 4, and tied for their fourth-fewest allowed all season.
This is the blueprint these Bruins need to follow. They’re not talented enough to open things up and win shootouts, especially against good teams. If they’re going to have any level of success this season, it has to start with defense. Everyone has known this all season.
“We were focused on the details, taking care of the house,” Pastrnak said after Thursday’s win. “Korpi was outstanding for us, made the important saves. We limited the chances, and that's what we haven't done in the last couple games. And what was there, Korpi saved. So, the focus and determination was there today.
“You prove to yourself we can win games like this,” Pastrnak added. “We can play a full 60 minutes with focus and with the good defense. When we are dialed like this, playing like that, I think we can beat anybody in the league. So, take it, don't look too much ahead, and stay in the moment and focus on shift by shift and day by day.”
Pastrnak is right. The Bruins can play like this and win like this. The question is whether they can actually do it consistently, because they haven’t for the past month, and they didn’t for the first month and a half of the season either.
They did do it for a month in between, though, from the coaching change on Nov. 19 until the Christmas break. We just covered this more in-depth, so I won’t repeat it all here, but the Bruins were legitimately one of the best defenses in the NHL for the month leading up to the Christmas break… only to morph into one of the worst defenses in the month that followed.
On the surface, the maddening inconsistency might look like an effort problem. Interim head coach Joe Sacco said he doesn’t question that, though.
“I think our guys, they compete,” Sacco said. “Like, they work hard. We don't always make the right decisions or right plays all the time. That's hockey. But I think for the most part, I never really question the effort of this group.”
From the outside, there have certainly been times when it’s looked like the effort has been lacking, but maybe Sacco is right. Maybe it’s more about the focus that Pastrnak referenced. Or maybe it’s a talent issue. It doesn’t necessarily take a ton of talent to commit to defense, but it’s unrealistic to expect any team to play near-perfect defense every night in the NHL like the Bruins did Thursday. You need enough talent to outscore some mistakes, and that’s where the Bruins struggle to measure up.
The way the Bruins won Thursday is not an easy blueprint to follow during the grind of an 82-game season. There is virtually no room for error. They have no choice, though. If they’re going to salvage this season and convince management not to sell off pieces before the March 7 trade deadline, this is how they have to play.