BOSTON — The Bruins have scored power-play goals in seven straight games, but it’s the opportunities Boston’s man advantage didn’t take advantage of that had Bruce Cassidy talking after Game 2.
The B’s went 1-for-5 on the power play, the same as they did in Game 1. But Wednesday night seemed to be much tougher sledding in all facets — including the power play — in a 3-2 overtime loss.
While Boston’s power play also struggled to put the puck in the net in Game 1, they were able to effectively grind St. Louis down. That was not the case in Game 2. Boston struggled for zone entry, and didn’t make the Blues grind in their own zone.
The Bruins also lost a key member to the second power play unit, with Matt Grzelcyk going down.
“I don’t think we executed as well, force them to defend in their own zone, we had one clean entry and it resulted in a goal,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said, referring to Charlie Coyle’s first-period goal. “Couple others, we had a bit of time. I thought they did a better job cutting off the top.”
Cassidy also lamented the Bruins’ failure to send a message when they got chances.
“If a team’s gonna play tight, if a team is going to play aggressive you have to have puck support,” Cassidy said. “Those things weren’t there as much as they should have been and as a result we lost some opportunities …Â on some situations where you wanna — the hit on Grzelcyk — that’s one where you want to send a message … the hits on Tuukka. We let opportunities slip away and that’s frustrating for a coach when guys are paying a price to draw a penalty and you don’t at least generate momentum. So, shame on us for those.”
