The 7-7-1 Boston Bruins are unaccustomed to slow starts under coach Jim Montgomery. In his first two seasons, they went 16-1-1 in October and 18-6-2 in November.
Montgomery, however, recently offered a different perspective on his team’s early struggles.
“We were (in) first place in the league at (American) Thanksgiving the last two years. We never achieved anything we wanted (in the end),” Montgomery told reporters after the Bruins’ 8-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Oct. 31. “Nobody’s happy with what’s going on. But we will get out of it. We will be better, and hopefully it creates a better result come playoff time.”
Maybe that will be the case, but at this moment, the Bruins look nothing like a playoff contender. It starts with their 5-on-5 offence, which sits 28th in goals per game even after scoring three times in a 4-3 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Boston had not scored three 5-on-5 goals since Oct. 14, snapping a 10-game streak of being held to two or fewer.
It appears that the Bruins have taken a different approach to generating offence this season. Their dump-in rate of 60.6 per cent at 5-on-5 is second highest in the league and an increase from 51.4 per cent last season.
Despite that, the Bruins are having less success creating 5-on-5 scoring chances off the forecheck, dropping from third to 28th in that category on a per-game basis. Boston, which finished tied for third with 20 forecheck goals at 5-on-5 last season, has two so far. Offensive-zone possession time is down by 27 seconds per game as well — a sign that the Bruins have struggled to sustain pressure.
After averaging 20.1 slot-driving plays per game at 5-on-5 last season, the Bruins are dead last in the league this season at 15.7 per game.
Nine of Boston’s 22 goals at 5-on-5 have come when the fourth line of John Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke has been on the ice. Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, who are counted on to lead the charge offensively, have combined for one goal at 5-on-5 through 15 games. (They scored a total of 43 last season.)
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Montgomery, though, made one change Thursday that could pay dividends, putting Pavel Zacha back at centre alongside Pastrnak on the Bruins’ top line. That unit, which also included recent signee Tyler Johnson, was excellent Thursday, outscoring the Flames 2-0 and out-chancing them 6-0 at 5-on-5. Zacha scored off of a feed from Pastrnak for his first 5-on-5 goal of the season. (Pastrnak, whom Montgomery benched in the third period of the Bruins’ 2-0 win against the Seattle Kraken last weekend, had two assists against the Flames in a season-high 23:32 of ice time.)
“They played really well,” Montgomery told reporters after the win. “I thought that line was our best offensive line.”
Marchand, who scored the overtime winner and recorded a season-high eight shots, played with Elias Lindholm and Justin Brazeau. They generated 89.5 per cent of the expected goals at even strength in 9:03 of ice time.
In goal, Jeremy Swayman, who missed all of training camp as he and the Bruins hashed out a new contract, has played below his capabilities. An unquestioned starter for the first time in his career, Swayman has stumbled out of the gate. He has been particularly weak on the penalty kill, where his .789 save percentage ranks 51st among the top 64 goaltenders in minutes played.
Perhaps the Bruins’ win Thursday can act as a springboard, but they still have a lot of work to do to get back to where they belong.
“We expected more from ourselves early on, for sure,” Marchand told reporters Thursday. “We expected better results and our team to come out of the gate harder than we have. But it is what it is. We didn’t. You can’t dwell on it.”
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