They lead all teams in the postseason with 31 even-strength goals, not to mention another goal while 4-on-4 and three empty-netters.
But the Bruins haven't been nearly as effective when the sides aren't even. Their power-play struggles have been well chronicled (2-for-37, 5.4 percent), but Boston's penalty kill also ranks just 10th out of 16 playoff teams at 80.5 percent (eight goals allowed on 41 chances).
Now that unit will face its biggest test yet in the Eastern Conference finals, as Tampa Bay leads all teams with 12 power-play goals. The Lightning have also had the third-most power-play chances in the playoffs with 45 and are converting at a 26.7 percent, so the Bruins will have to try to limit Tampa's chances with the man-advantage.
"Discipline is always going to be the key word that every team is always going to use in the playoffs," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "But there's going to be penalties. In a series there always is, and our PK is going to have to come up big for us and we know that. Their power play has been pretty good and they've got some pretty highly-skilled players on those power plays that bring a lot, whether it's shots, whether it's playmaking, whether it's good presence in the front of the net. They seem to have that going very well for them. So PK is going to be important."
The main reason for Tampa's success on the power play is obvious. Any time you can roll out the likes of Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier with an extra skater on the ice, chances are pretty good a few goals will follow.
"Their top guys are some of the top players in the league," Bruins forward Gregory Campbell said. "When you have that combination, it's obviously going to work."
But there's more to the Lightning's power play than top-end talent. It's the way the Lightning deploys that talent and the constantly shifting looks they present that really makes life miserable for the penalty killers.
"They've always had a power play, not to say it wasn't structured, but they have parts that move in and out and it's tough to defend that when you have St. Louis sometimes playing at the point, then he's down low," Campbell said. "To have sort of a game plan is a little but tougher than [against] most teams.
"They have a lot of weapons too," Campbell added. "They have the one-timer from Stamkos, and if you take that away, which most teams are now, especially after that 50-goal season that he had, they'll just move it over to Lecavalier for his one-timer. So it's tough being down a man and having to cover all those dangerous guys."
Fellow penalty killer Brad Marchand agreed, noting that it's the variety of ways that the Lightning attack on the power play as much as the talent on display that makes it difficult to defend.
"I think they have so many different looks they can throw at you on the power play," Marchand said. "They have five guys out there that are very deadly and they can all score. If you give them time and room and space they'll make you pay, so we have to make sure that we're all ready to block shots, sacrifice our bodies."
The Bruins are already down one very important penalty killer, as Patrice Bergeron is expected to miss at least the start of the series after suffering a mild concussion in Game 4 of the second-round series against Philadelphia.
"His loss is felt in a lot of areas, but he was obviously big for the penalty kill," Campbell said. "His faceoffs, he was like 65 percent on faceoffs, so [losing] that will be big. He was taking a lot of draws for us, and as you know, starting out in the defensive zone and winning that draw is key on the penalty kill. But I think we have a lot of guys, we have six, seven, eight guys that are definitely capable of doing the job and can fill in [on the penalty kill]."
One of those players filling in is expected to be David Krejci, who worked extensively on the PK in previous years but has been used mostly at even strength and on the power play this season.
"There is no doubt David Krejci has been a pretty good penalty killer and obviously we have, since we have a lot of penalty killers, tried to save him more for the offensive side of our game," Julien said. "So you have to use David on the penalty kill and that's things you have to adjust with. And Mark Recchi has been able to bail us out too in regards to that. So we are going to have to utilize certain guys. And depending on how many penalties we get too, [Daniel] Paille and Campbell can almost, when I say double shift, start it, get a rest and go back out there again."
The Bruins will need that depth, as the Lightning have plenty of options at their disposal for the power play. St. Louis leads the league with seven power-play points in the playoffs, but Tampa Bay already has seven different players with at least one power-play goal and 13 players with points on the man-advantage.
The Lightning come in waves on the power play, attacking the net and exploiting any mistakes the shorthanded side may make.
"I think the one thing you don't want to be is running around against this team because they will expose you on the power play," Julien said. "They move the puck quickly and like to jam pucks at the net. A lot of it is what they do even 5-on-5. They will throw pucks at the net, they will move it around and they will try to jam the net, whether it's stuffing it from the sides and getting some traffic in front. And if they are shooting it from the point, a lot of guys [are] just hitting toward the net. So they have skill, there is no doubt there, but they also have that killer instinct of taking those pucks to the net."
