Why Dmitry Orlov Practiced With Bruins’ First Power Play Unit

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has shown he’s not afraid to shake up his lines when he feels he can get more from them.

That trend continued with Boston’s defense during Wednesday’s practice when Dmitry Orlov was spotted on the first power-play unit with David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk and Patrice Bergeron.

The top spot typically has been Charlie McAvoy’s, but now Orlov — who’s been a seamless fit with the Bruins since being traded by the Washington Capitals — will get a crack at the first unit.

“Our power play has kind of stalled. It’s been flat, right?,” Montgomery told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena after practice. “If you look at the Bergeron unit, they’ve scored two goals over the last — I don’t know how many games — and only one goal was an in-zone goal. It was DeBrusk’s first game back from injury. So we have the opportunity to experiment so we’re experimenting.”

Montgomery also sees this as an opportunity for McAvoy to hopefully have more success on the second power-play unit with Hampus Lindholm, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi and Pavel Zacha.

“How does Charlie McAvoy have a lot of success? He has a lot of success attacking down the right wing in the offensive zone,” Montgomery told reporters. “If you look at all the plays he makes last game he comes down the right wing, gets a pass, toe drag over for a one-timer. He’s a real dynamic player on the move and we want to put him in situations where he can succeed and make us better.”

The Bruins have an 11-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes for second place in the NHL standings. They continue to find ways to win games but know that sometimes the power play can make or break a game. And if that part of the team is struggling, it’s best to try to experiment to see what works. After all, the Bruins certainly are in a position to mix and match before the Stanley Cup playoffs approach.