BOSTON — The Boston Bruins aren’t ones to sit back on the defensive while on the penalty kill.
The Bruins currently rank second in the NHL with 12 shorthanded goals this season, five of which coming from the duo of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. The tandem is on somewhat of a PK tear, as two of those shorthanders have come in their last pair of contests.
Bergeron found the back of the net in the third period with the Bruins down a man down in Tuesday’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes. History repeated itself Thursday night, as Bergeron leveled the score at 2-2 with yet another shorthanded strike in the third frame against the Florida Panthers. It was the first of two goals in the final stanza from Bergeron, who lit the lamp with 6.7 seconds left to give the B’s a thrilling 4-3 win at TD Garden.
Bergeron’s first tally epitomized the Bruins’ penalty-killing mindset. After winning a puck battle in the neutral zone against Henrik Borgstrom, Marchand dumped the puck off to Charlie McAvoy, who found Bergeron streaking up ice. The veteran center did the rest, firing a wrist shot past Roberto Luongo for his 24th goal of the season.
After the game, McAvoy struggled to wrap his head around Marchand’s and Bergeron’s ability to create offense from defense while on the PK.
“Bergy and Marchy there scoring that shorthanded goal. I don’t know how those guys do it,” McAvoy said. “It’s like a power play for them almost. It’s crazy.”
For Marchand, attacking with a man down is all about picking and choosing the right spots.
“When you do get that opportunity you can maybe get a shot there,” Marchand said. “It’s a fine line, too, because if you turn it over then it’s three on two back the other way. But yeah, we definitely have that attack mentality when we get it. If we have room, we’re gonna go. It worked out tonight.”
While the Bruins, obviously, are trying to avoid penalties, a strong penalty kill is a great team attribute and will be critically important come playoff time. Because as McAvoy noted, Boston’s top PK unit evidently doesn’t view an opponent’s power play as too much of a disadvantage.
