Somewhat lost in all the controversy surrounding Sam Bennett’s sucker-punch on Brad Marchand in Game 3 and the NHL’s questionable ruling on Bennett’s game-tying goal in Game 4 is the fact that the Boston Bruins have not been playing very good hockey.
And because of that – more so that than the officiating – the Bruins find themselves trailing the Panthers 3-1 in the series and facing elimination Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida.
It seems unlikely that the Bruins will be able to win three straight games against the Panthers, but the good news is that they don’t have to win three games Tuesday night. They just need to win one. Fight off elimination, get a two-day break before returning home for Game 6 on Friday, possibly get your captain back (Marchand is expected to remain out for Game 5), and see what happens.
So, how do the Bruins do that? Here is a three-point plan for winning Game 5. It may sound simple, and that’s because it is. But simple is not the same as easy, and Boston has struggled mightily to execute a couple parts of this formula in the last three games.
1. Shoot. The. Puck.
It’s annoying when hockey fans yell, “SHOOOOT!” It was almost cringeworthy when the TD Garden crowd chanted “Shoot. The. Puck.” after a wasted Boston power play in the third period of Game 4. But it’s also good, necessary advice sometimes.
The Bruins simply are not landing enough shots on goal right now. In the last three games, they have averaged a paltry 16.7 per game. They have not topped 20 shots in a game since Game 1. They have had six or fewer in seven of the last nine periods. After Aleksander Barkov gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead with 12:29 to go in Game 4, the Bruins landed zero shots on goal the rest of the way while trying to tie the game.
There are several factors at play here. The Bruins aren’t ending Florida possessions quickly enough. They aren’t getting through the neutral zone cleanly often enough. Their forecheck hasn’t been effective enough. And on the rare occasion that they actually do get to set up in the offensive zone, they’ve made too many poor decisions with the puck.
But there’s also a philosophy shift that needs to happen here. The Bruins have been a quality-over-quantity team all season when it comes to shot selection, as Jim Montgomery and Don Sweeney are quick to remind anyone who asks them about their team’s dearth of shot.
That was an admirable approach. The Bruins had rightly concluded that in past seasons, they did not do enough to get to “inside ice” and score greasy, playoff-style goals. So, don’t settle for outside shots and work to get inside more. It worked fairly well for much of the regular season.
Now, however, the Bruins are not getting enough of any kind of chances. They have to stop being stubborn and be more willing to fire away from anywhere. Beggars can’t be choosers, as they say.
Brandon Carlo’s goal in Game 4 was a seemingly harmless shot from the point that knuckled past Sergei Bobrovsky. That should be all the evidence the Bruins need that no shot is a bad shot, especially against a goalie in Bobrovsky who really hasn’t been anything special this postseason.
Bruins players, at least, seem to understand this, or are at least more willing to say it than their coach or GM.
“We’re still not putting pucks enough to the net,” veteran winger Pat Maroon said Monday. “18 shots on a goalie throughout three periods is not good enough. … We need more volume. We need more shots.”
A few names in particular who need more chances: David Pastrnak has five shots in the last three games. Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha each have three. Trent Frederic has two all series. And here’s the big one: Charlie McAvoy remains stuck on zero for the series.
2. Stay out of the box
The Bruins have given the Panthers six power plays in each of the last three games. That is way too many. They had four in the third period alone Sunday.
Have some of the calls been questionable? Yes, absolutely. But most of them have been a lack of discipline on the Bruins’ part. Just in Game 4, there was Pastrnak throwing an unnecessary jab at Anton Lundell after the whistle, Maroon carelessly getting his stick up on Matthew Tkachuk after the whistle, and Morgan Geekie being unaware of where he was on the ice and backing right into Bobrovsky.
It’s not just that the Panthers’ power play is dangerous – it is, as evidenced by its six goals in the last three games. It’s also that the Bruins are making it even harder on themselves to create offense when they’re spending so much time in the box.
As much as the Panthers have dominated in terms of possession and shots at even strength, 5-on-5 goals in the series are actually just 8-7 for Florida. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Bruins have actually had one more 5-on-5 high-danger chance (34-33). If the Bruins can stay out of the box, they’ll at least give themselves a chance.
3. Get lights-out goaltending
Whether Montgomery sticks with Jeremy Swayman for Game 5 or switches to Linus Ullmark, the Bruins could really use, and might need, a truly elite goaltending performance.
The Bruins haven’t really gotten that since Game 1. They gave up 12 goals in Games 2 and 3 combined, with Swayman in net for nine of them. Swayman was better in Game 4, but did still give up one goal he’d like back when Anton Lundell beat him short-side from outside the dot.
The Panthers are clearly a better roster top to bottom than the Bruins. That advantage has shown up in the shot totals, the goal totals, and the win totals. Goaltending can be the great equalizer, though, and the Bruins probably need it to be.
Is it fair to ask Swayman or Ullmark to turn in a perfect game? Probably not. Goaltending has been the least of Boston’s problems. But with so little else going right for the Bruins in this series, that might be their best chance to stave off elimination Tuesday night.