New season, similar recipe for the Boston Bruins. After starting off to a strong 3-0-0 record, the Bruins have lost four in a row. With those losses, you are seeing similar aspects of their game from the 2024-25 season bleed over into this season.
Bruins Struggle to Generate Chances
There was a lot that didn’t go right for the Bruins during the 2024-25 season. The biggest thing for that team was their ability to generate offense. They were middle of the pack in terms of puck possession and expected goals against. However, they finished 27th in expected goals for parentage (xGF%), and goal scoring was a struggle. One of the biggest questions going into this season was, “Who is going to elevate the offense?” Because this team cannot solely rely on the goal scoring of David Pastrnak.
The sample size is small, as the team has only played eight games. However, even with that small sample, the offense still has trouble generating good chances. The latest road trip helped put an exclamation point on how there has been a lack of offense.
The Bruins struggled to muster offense in the final two games of the trip. Against the Colorado Avalanche, they had seven shots on goal combined in the final two periods. In addition, the Utah Mammoth held them to three shots on goal in the final period.
Overall, the Bruins average just 2.77 expected goals for per 60 minutes, which is 27th in the league. Being ranked at the bottom of the league in offensive categories needs to change moving forward. The worst part is they rank 30th in xGF% (40.40) during five-on-five play and have given up the most expected goals against. Looking back at last season, it was an aspect of their game that needed to improve and hasn’t yet. What they do need more of is speed.
Bruins Need an Injection of Speed
It’s not that the Bruins are a bad defensive team. In fact, they’ve done a good job keeping teams to the perimeter and not giving up a lot of high-danger chances. Not to mention, the penalty kill is the most stable thing about this hockey team, as they have a 90% success rate. The main issue, given the context above, is that the Bruins spend too much time defending, and when they do have the puck, generating chances is a challenge.
Related: 2 Takeaways From Bruins’ 3-2 Loss to the Mammoth
There are three things this team needs more of: skill, talent, and speed. It was notable how much quicker the Avalanche were than the Bruins, and something that even head coach Marco Sturm touched on after the game.
“I think today it’s a speed game. That’s why a guy like Khuzy is in. Back-to-back game, quick turnaround, we thought we just needed more legs.”
Marat Khusnutdinov has been a pleasant surprise, and he does bring an element of speed to the lineup. Although Sturm has noted many times that his grinders have been his best players, he wants to see more out of the rest of this group. But this team does need an injection of speed, and it’s right under their noses in Providence.
Mark Divver, someone who covers the Providence Bruins and is around the team, has said that this is the fastest Providence team he has seen in quite a while. The guys who didn’t make the initial opening night roster have performed well.
Fabian Lysell has three goals and six points. Matthew Poitras has five points (all assists). Matej Blumel has two goals and six points. These are all guys who can give the Bruins a boost and bring that speed element to the lineup. It might be early to call these players up, but if the offense continues to struggle to generate chances, they may need to make changes to their lineup.
There Is Room to Get Better
It is very early into the 2025-26 season, but the similarities exist. The Bruins are getting out-chanced by their opponents on most nights, and speed is lagging in their lineup. If they do need an injection of speed and offensive impact, it’s right in their system. The Bruins need to find ways to generate better offense and see improvements in that regard, or it’s going to be another season where they are buried at the bottom of the league.
