What Bruins Believe Must Change In Third-Period, Overtime Play

The Bruins made it a bad habit during the first quarter of the season to give up leads late in the third period and fall short in overtime, but Boston knows what must be done to fix that trend.

The Black and Gold are 2-6 in overtime through 30 games this season, and Tuesday’s loss to the Wild was a reminder that despite being first in the Atlantic Division, there still are things that need to be worked on.

Minnesota scored two goals in the third period at TD Garden to take a 3-2 lead over Boston. Brad Marchand scored the tying goal at 18:54 in overtime to even the matchup, but Kirill Kaprizov scored the winner in overtime.

Boston’s 3-on-3 play seemed to be something head coach Jim Montgomery wanted his team to work on as that was a point of emphasis during Thursday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. The Bruins also know what must be done to maintain leads in the third period.

“I think in a way we almost let teams dictate the play in the third,” Kevin Shattenkirk told reporters, per team-provided video. “We kinda wait to see what they’re going to bring after we kind of established our game in the first two periods. We just have to be more confident that what we’re doing in the offensive zone, sustaining pressure and keeping puck possession in the neutral zone, those things build up to playing less in the D-zone. And when you do get there, you have to end plays quicker.

“You have to understand teams are going to be putting a lot of pucks at the net and trying to get goals like we saw (Tuesday), that second goal from Kaprizov. That’s on us, and it’s an easy fix. It’s something that we need to make sure that we’re confident in defense and being aggressive playing defense.”

Montgomery and Shattenkirk agreed puck possession is the most vital aspect of 3-on-3 hockey, and it’s something Boston must focus on. The head coach felt his team could benefit from this upcoming road trip since everyone is together more often, and that could sharpen up their games for Friday against the Winnipeg Jets.