Nine games into the 2015-16 NHL season, the Boston Bruins’ power play shows no signs of slowing down.
The Bruins netted another two goals on the man advantage in Friday’s 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers, upping their league-leading season total to 11.
For context, Boston finished 27th in the NHL in power-play goals last season, managing just 38 over 82 games.
“We’ve been working on it,” center David Krejci told reporters, as aired on “Bruins Overtime LIVE.” “We got another two goals (Friday), so it’s always a good feeling. So, let’s build on that. We’ve got another one (Saturday), so let’s try to put a couple pucks in the net again.”
The Bruins’ penalty kill hasn’t been nearly as effective this season (27th in conversion percentage entering Friday), but they held the Panthers scoreless on five of their six power-play opportunities, with Florida’s lone goal coming on a 5-on-3.
Boston now has earned at least a point in each of its last six games and still has yet to lose away from TD Garden (4-0-0).
“We try to keep things simple,” goalie Tuukka Rask told NESN rinkside reporter Sarah Davis. “Just put pucks in and grind it out. Not doing anything too pretty out there. It’s been working for us. The same thing happened at home, so we’re just trying to play the same way and keep this going.”
Some additional notes from Friday’s action:
— Brad Marchand beat old nemesis Roberto Luongo for two of the Bruins’ three goals. As reader Brian Picccirillo pointed out on Twitter, it was the first time Marchand had scored twice on the veteran goaltender in one game since…
— The World Cup of Hockey returns next fall, meaning this season will serve as a proving ground of sorts for players hoping to represent their respective nations at the 2016 tourney in Toronto.
Competition for roster spots on Team Canada — the reigning Olympic champion — is expected to be particularly steep. Bergeron is an obvious choice for inclusion, and he could very well be joined by Marchand, who told The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa he’d certainly like to be considered.
“Potentially, yeah,” Marchand told Shinzawa. “Maybe. But I think a lot of it will go on how the season goes and how each player performs.
“There’s a lot of really good players in this league, especially in Canada. Lot of talent, lot of competition. I hope I’m in the running. But time will tell.”
Marchand, who last played for Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championships, has scored at least a point in all five games since returning from the concussion he suffered during the first week of the season.
— Krejci assisted on a power-play goal by Zdeno Chara to extend his season-opening point streak to nine games. It also was the 300th assist of his career.
— Bruins winger Jimmy Hayes did not factor into the scoring in his first game against his former team, but he did record six shots on goal (the majority of which came during one late-game flurry) to go along with a game-high six hits.
— The Bruins are in the midst of their first back-to-back of the season. Next up is a trip to Tampa Bay for a Saturday night meeting with the Lightning.
The Lightning already have gotten the best of the B’s once this month, winning 6-3 at TD Garden in perhaps Rask’s shakiest performance of the young season.
“We’re just going to fly into Tampa and get some rest and show up (Saturday),” the netminder told Davis. “It’s a tough team. We have to play really solid defense in order to win.”
Tampa Bay has not looked particularly formidable of late, however, losing each of its last three games and six of its last eight.
Thumbnial photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images
