How Bruins Newcomer Will Add Needed ‘Killer Instinct’ To Power Play

When we last saw the Bruins power play, Jim Montgomery’s unit floundered with the man advantage, a big reason Boston’s season ended.

The Bruins’ power play went 1-for-16 over a six-game series with Florida, a series the Bruins ultimately lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions. While Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation dominated the offseason conversation, the Bruins also spent lavishly on upgrades, including one they hope will jump-start the power play, an area general manager Don Sweeney labeled as an Achilles heel down the stretch.

Montgomery on Wednesday spoke about the impact he believes newcomer Elias Lindholm will have on the power play. The Bruins signed Lindholm to a seven-year, $54.25 million deal in the offseason. He is a two-way threat, but it’s what he can do to generate puck possession in the defensive end that has Montgomery hopeful for his power play.

“First, faceoffs, we’re going to have more end zone time I think right away with winning faceoffs, because he is … watching him in the summer the way he beat high-end centers like (Leon) Draisaitl and (Ryan) O’Reilly on big draws in the playoffs … you know, that got us excited about where we start with the power play,” Montgomery explained.

Lindholm has won 53.5% of his career draws, and only five players — Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, Bo Horvat, Draisaitl and Jordan Staal — have won more faceoffs since the start of 2020. The veteran pivot has won 59.1% of his power-play draws over the same time. The Bruins ranked 13th in power-play faceoff percentage last season, which is still quite respectable. Compared to 2022-23, though, it represented a sharp decline from a year in which Boston led the league in that category. That’s what happens when you lose Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

The hope is that Lindholm can get back to being the power-play threat he was earlier in his career, like when he recorded a career-high 26 points in 2018-19 or even two seasons ago when he posted 10-11-21 totals on the man advantage.

“I just think he gives us more options on power play entries and in the zone … makes us a lot harder (to play against),” Montgomery added. ” … If you leave him alone, he’s going to score. So they’re going to have to be aware of where he is now, so now you’ve got a lot more killer instinct in the power play and options that the penalty kill has to worry about.”

Lindholm might not be the most skilled offensive player on his own team, let alone the entire league. His ability to drive play should improve the Bruins in all three zones. That could be especially true on a power play surrounded by the likes of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy.