It was a mixed-results week on and off the ice for the Boston Bruins. On the ice, they earned split results in their two games, while off the ice, injuries continue to play a part in their recent play and they had to place a key defenseman on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR).
Despite just two games in the last week, a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres and a 5-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes, it’s time to look at the latest Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus One: Bruins Penalty Kill
If there was one consistency with the Bruins last week, it was their penalty-killing. They killed off all three opportunities for the Sabres and all five of the Coyotes opportunities. Against Arizona, they survived two third-period chances and goalie Linus Ullmark came up with some big saves.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Bruins’ 5-3 Win Over Coyotes
One issue that has plagued the Black and Gold this season has been the amount of penalties they have been taking. With a very tough upcoming schedule of the New Jersey Devils (Dec. 13, New York Islanders (Dec. 15) and New York Rangers (Dec. 16) staying out of the penalty box is going to be important.
Minus One: Derek Forbrot placed on LTIR
Speaking of penalty killing, Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort have been the Black and Gold’s top defensive pairing unit, but Boston took a huge hit on the backend when Fortbort was placed on LTIR on Dec. 7 before the Buffalo game. He is a key loss on the backend for second-year head coach Jim Montgomery.
Mason Lohrei was brought up from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) to fill the open spot in the lineup. Carlo was huge on the penalty kill against Arizona login 7:19 shorthanded time on ice and Hampus Lindholm played 5:05 and Lohrei 2:43.
Plus Two: David Pastrnak Leads Bruins Over Arizona
After a disappointing and frustrating loss to the Sabres, the Bruins needed to bounce back against a much-improved Coyotes team at home. It wasn’t a pretty 60 minutes from Boston, but thanks to their leading goal-scorer, they were able to secure two points.
In the first period, David Pastrnak won a board battle behind the Arizona net, swung around to the front, and beat Connor Ingram under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead. In the third period and with the Bruins hanging on by a thread, Pastrnak gave them some breathing room with just over six minutes left when he knocked home a rebound for a 5-3 lead. In the second period, Pastrnak picked up an assist on a Kevin Shattenkirk power play goal. When they needed their leading goal-scorer to step up, he did in a badly needed victory.
Minus Two: Charlie McAvoy & Pavel Zacha Injuries
As if losing Forbort wasn’t bad enough, fellow defenseman Charlie McAvoy and top center Pavel Zacha joined him with an injury. Both players were knocked out of different games. McAvoy was injured early in the third period against Buffalo and left the game with an upper-body injury. Montgomery said it was not a concussion and he felt better before the Arizona game but was held out of the lineup. Zacha was injured in the first period against the Coyotes and did not return.
Monday (Dec. 11) after practice, Montgomery said that both players are day-to-day and they will see how things unfold if they can return to the lineup this week. Losing either for any extended period of time would be a big blow to the Bruins who are short on depth to begin with.
Plus Three: Charlie Coyle
When Zacha went down, Charlie Coyle played a big role in the Bruins being able to dig deep and get a win over Arizona. He won 17 of his 22 faceoffs, he scored a goal and in the third period, there were times when Montgomery double-shifted him.
Matthew Poitras and John Beecher also stepped up in Zacha’s absence and they will need to continue to do that if he’s out for any extended amount of time. Coyle, however, has been an unsung hero of the Bruins so far and his contributions on all areas have been needed.
Minus Three: Bruins Slow Starts
If there was one common theme last week in just two games, it was the slow starts that continue to hamper the Bruins. Buffalo outshot them 19-5 in the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. Arizona outshot them 8-1 in the first half of the opening period before Boston started to get their feet under them, which led to Pastrnak’s first goal. Better starts are a must as needing to rally from first-period deficits is not a recipe for success for the Black and Gold.
Over the next week, the Bruins are going to get tested by three very tough Metropolitan Division teams, and getting any injured players and starting games better is a must.