BOSTON — Penalty killing has been one of the biggest strengths of the Bruins over the last two seasons, and it played a key role in the team’s 2-1 season-opening win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
The Bruins were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and limited the Flyers to just six shots on goal in six minutes of short-handed ice time.
“We had some penalty killers in the box and with (Gregory) Campbell not there and David Krejci, who can kill. I thought a guy like (Craig) Cunningham did a great job tonight,” Julien said after the game. “Him and Dan Paille. But Cunny, for a young player coming in did a great job. And then we had to kind of double shift certain guys. We killed with four, but kept them short for the most part. And we were able to get away with it. But, no doubt, I thought a guy like Cunningham really saved us from more damage by being so good on the penalty kill.
“Our other guys, who are experienced guys out there, Kelly and Paille, Marchand, Bergeron, those kind of guys, (Loui) Eriksson. Like you said, some of those guys were in the penalty box during those penalties, and he came up and did a great job on faceoffs, and also guys blocking shots and doing a great job of clearing the puck.”
Boston ranked eighth in the NHL with a 83.6 percent success rate on the penalty kill, and it should be an improved unit in 2014-15 with the healthy return of veteran defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid, as well as center Chris Kelly. These three players, who missed a combined 122 regular-season games last season, averaged 2:18 of short-handed ice time in Wednesday’s victory.
“I think we tried to take their time and space away,” Kelly said when asked about the penalty kill. “They got a lot of skill guys. They have a really good power play. If you give those skill guys like (Claude) Giroux or (Jakub) Voracek straight time, they’re gonna make the right play.”
Another area of success for the Bruins when short-handed was faceoffs. Boston won five of its seven draws on the penalty kill, which helped the unit win puck possession and clear the zone.
Even when the Bruins were on the penalty kill, they still found ways to create scoring chances, including a 2-on-1 rush with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron in the second period. Marchand tied for the league lead with five short-handed goals in 2013-14, and he was spectacular in short-handed situations against the Flyers.
The Bruins were one of five teams to rank in the top 10 of power play and penalty kill success last season, and four of those teams reached the playoffs — only the New Jersey Devils failed to make it.
If the B’s are able to excel on special teams again this season, they likely will enjoy another deep postseason run.
Photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
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