Scoring more than two goals has been a real challenge for the Boston Bruins over the last eight games, but the team’s quality goaltending and improved penalty killing are encouraging signs.
Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center was a frustrating one for the Bruins.
Backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg played his best game of the season and gave his team a great chance to win against a Kings team that has been dominant on home ice (league-leading 11 wins). He made 33 saves on 34 shots and stopped all nine shots against in penalty kill situations. That included five clutch saves during the first period when L.A. had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:25 and failed to score.
Svedberg had traffic in and around his crease all night, but he battled through screens and made aggressive, Tim Thomas-like moves out of his net to cut down shooting angles. It was an impressive performance from a backup netminder with a solid .922 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average on the season.
Boston also has killed seven straight penalties and actually have been on the offensive during a few of their recent short-handed opportunities, including a 5-1 shot differential on the penalty kill in Monday night’s loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The B’s still have work to do on the penalty kill as they rank 18th with an 80 percent success rate.
— The Bruins rank 26th with a 7.84 shooting percentage, It’s 7.12 percent during 5-on-5 play, which is a little less than the league average 7.78 percent. This low shooting percentage does indicate that the Bruins have been a bit unlucky this season given their offensive skill, but it’s also obvious they need to shoot more.
Boston averages 28.18 unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes at even strength, the 10th-lowest total. The B’s are one of three teams ranked 20th or lower that’s currently in a playoff spot (Winnipeg 22nd, Calgary 29th). Players often need to create their own luck, and that can’t happen if there’s a lack of aggressiveness in the attacking zone. David Pastrnak has set a good example for his teammates during his brief NHL career with a team-leading 12 shots on goal over the last three games.
— Matt Fraser was re-inserted into the lineup on Dec. 1 against the Ducks. He’s played in the last two games and is scoreless with just three shots. The 24-year-old winger has scored in just two of his 16 games this season.
It’s time for Seth Griffith, who ranks second on the team with five goals scored, to return to the lineup. He hasn’t played since Boston’s 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 28.
— Bruins head coach Claude Julien mixed up his lines a bit with his team struggling to score against Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick. The notable changes were moving Reilly Smith back to the Patrice Bergeron line, and Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg being split up.
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Milan Lucic-Carl Soderberg-David Pastrnak
Matt Fraser-Chris Kelly-Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Simon Gagne
— Bruins defenseman Joe Morrow was scratched Tuesday night and Kevan Miller entered the lineup to face his childhood team. Miller had zero points, zero shots and two penalty minutes.
— Despite being short-handed three times and not having a single power play, the Bruins were still able to keep the shot attempt total close. The Kings had a 63-57 edge in all situations, but the B’s led 56-50 at even strength.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports Images
