Bruins Maintain Work To ‘Simplify’ On Penalty Kill In Recent ‘Slip’

BOSTON — The Bruins have had several areas of improvement to seek as the team has dropped four of five games to open the month of February.

In the most recent loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night at TD Garden, Boston surrendered another power-play goal when Jordan Eberle tied the game in the first period. The former New York Islander got a shot off on Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman before capitalizing on his own rebound to find the back of the net.

“I think the PK is lacking a little bit of confidence right now,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after the loss. “On the goal against, we’ve got to be working together on the entry. Two guys were working and two guys were watching. That’s how they ended up getting to our net.”

For the season as a whole, the Bruins have been productive in killing off penalties, tallying the second-most kills, only trailing the Anaheim Ducks, with the seventh-best kill percentage in the league. In terms of fixing the recent skid, the group looks to prioritize confidence and simplicity.

“I think just simplifying,” Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo told reporters. “When we get running out of position or start to try to do too much, that’s not a good thing. Overall, I feel like we have plenty of faith and confidence in our kill. It’s slipped a little bit, but as long as we continue to go the right way, you’ve seen over the past couple of years that it’s been at the top of the league. We’re going to try to make sure that continues to happen.”

The Bruins look for improved production when they return to the ice on Saturday at TD Garden to host another Western Conference opponent in the Los Angeles Kings.