The Bruins played better at five-on-five Monday against the Islanders. They controlled play for most of the game, created more chances than they did Saturday in New Jersey, and didn’t give the Islanders much of anything at the other end.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the results were the same. They once again failed to score at even strength and have now opened the season with zero five-on-five goals through three games. They didn’t score in any other situation, either, ultimately losing 1-0 on a late Jean-Gabriel Pageau winner.
The Bruins desperately need a finisher. They need someone who can take over, make a special play, and bury some of these chances.
That someone is David Pastrnak, who is expected to practice with the team this week as he works his way back from offseason hip surgery. It’s still unclear exactly when he’ll be game-ready, but it can’t come soon enough.
Now, obviously one player, even one as good as Pastrnak, can’t single-handedly solve the Bruins’ offensive issues. Other guys still need to start scoring, too.
Coach Bruce Cassidy has talked about the need for the Bruins to get pucks and bodies to the net and score dirty goals, like the one the Islanders scored Monday or the one the Devils scored late in regulation in the season-opener.
All valid. The Bruins were a little better in terms of having a net-front presence on Monday, but they still weren’t dangerous enough often enough, as evidenced by Natural Stat Trick crediting them with just three high-danger chances. Creating more chances for deflections and rebounds probably is the best recipe to break out of this offensive slump in the short-term.
But sometimes when all other forms of offense are failing, it takes a special player making a special play to swing a game in your favor, especially when you’re playing a bunch of low-scoring, one-goal games like the Bruins have been.
Brad Marchand is obviously an elite offensive player as well, and sure enough he has scored or assisted on all three Bruins goals this season, not to mention he also scored the shootout winner in the opener. But he’s not getting enough help right now.
Pastrnak can be that extra something the Bruins need to flip a low-scoring one-goal loss to a low-scoring one-goal win. He’s the guy who tied for the league lead in goals with 48 last season, and tied for fourth with 28 even-strength goals.
His league-leading 20 power-play goals would be a boost for a Boston power play that is 0-for-5 in the last two games after scoring twice in the opener. His 10 game-winning goals, also tied for the lead league, would sure come in handy in these close games.
The Bruins’ new-look defense has somewhat surprisingly been pretty good so far. The goaltending from Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak has been great.
It’s the offense holding the Bruins back right now, and it’s clear that they badly miss their most dangerous offensive weapon.