The Boston Bruins were out of sorts in many areas in their return to the ice Saturday.
Their issues on the power play could be put near the top of the list, as even after a long layoff, an alarming trend of not converting on the man-advantage persisted in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at TD Garden.
The Bruins, who came into the contest with the fifth-best power-play percentage in the league, went 0-for-4 on the power play, and now have come up empty on 17 straight man-advantage opportunities dating back before the All-Star break.
It’s unlike that unit, especially this season, to struggle, and Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery believes he understands what plagued his team’s power play against the Capitals.
“I think it’s puck movement, we just have to make quicker decisions, but I didn’t like our decisions with puck movement on breakouts and neutral zone counters and O-zone play,” Montgomery told reporters, per Bruins.com’s Eric Russo. “Usually when I’m behind the bench, usually when I’m thinking, ‘Move it now,’ it’s already moving and when I said, ‘Move it now (today),’ I could have said it two more times.”
It felt like the Bruins were poised for another comeback when it earned a power-play chance midway through the final frame. But Boston couldn’t put a puck past Darcy Kuemper, who made two saves on that penalty kill, before Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak both registered giveaways to end any threat.
It’s ironic that Montgomery thought a lack of puck movement hurt the Bruins on the power play because over-passing at points was an issue as well.
The woes on the man-advantage aren’t a complete cause for concern at the moment, but something that needs to be paid closely to as the Bruins look to get back on track Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. Puck drop from American Airlines Center is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
