Bruins takeaways: Awful third period costs B’s in loss to Ullmark, Senators originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins will continue to be an average (or worse) team until they figure out how to play better in third periods.
Boston’s performance over the final 20 minutes of regulation versus the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night was awful, and it ended up costing the Bruins in a 3-2 overtime loss.
The score was tied at two goals apiece entering the third period. The Bruins were at home with a great opportunity to earn back-to-back wins and build some real momentum after a disappointing 7-7-1 start to the campaign. But instead of attacking and dictating the pace of play against an inferior opponent, the Bruins failed to generate any offense over the entire period.
Boston tallied zero (!) shots on net in the third period. That’s right — zero. The Senators outshot the Bruins 11-0 and emerged victorious when captain Brady Tkachuk beat Jeremy Swayman 21 seconds into overtime. The last time the B’s had zero shots on net in the third period was against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 21, 2006, per Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe.
The Bruins have scored just five third-period goals this season, and they’ve allowed 16 of them. Boston’s minus-11 goal differential in the third period is the worst in the league. The Bruins’ minus-41 shot differential in the third period is the second-worst in the league.
“I don’t have an answer,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said in his postgame press conference when asked why third periods have been an issue for his team.
What does the team need to do to address this problem?
“Talk about it, figure out why, look at what we’re doing sports science-wise,” Montgomery said. “We’ll come up with answers, but right now, I don’t have an answer for you.”
Montgomery also was asked postgame if he questions whether the players are listening to his messaging.
“No. I don’t question that,” Montgomery replied.
He was then asked what’s preventing the message from getting through to the players?
“That’s up for you guys to figure that out and come up with a reason,” Montgomery said. “We just weren’t good enough. You guys can write what you guys think is the malaise on the team and what’s going on. We’re just not playing good enough.”
Here are three other takeaways from Bruins-Senators.
Brad Marchand heating up after slow start
Boston’s captain is starting to find his groove.
Marchand has scored four goals with two assists in his last six games, including a goal in the second period versus the Senators that gave his team a 2-1 advantage. The tally also gave Marchand 290 career even-strength goals, which is the second-most in team history.
Marchand went eight games without scoring a goal to begin the season, but it’s safe to say that drought is over. He looks much more like himself the last two weeks. He’s been aggressive offensively (19 shots in his last five games) and more tenacious in puck battles.
Marchand now has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 16 games, which puts him two points behind David Pastrnak for the team lead in scoring.
Marchand did appear to be in some pain after a collision in the third period, but he was able to finish the game.
David Pastrnak’s goal drought extended
David Pastrnak is one of the league’s premier goal scorers. His 329 goals since the start of the 2016-17 campaign are the fourth-most in the sport. But lately, finding the back of the net has proven to be a difficult task for the superstar right wing.
Pastrnak has now gone seven games without scoring a goal. His longest goal drought last season was five games, and it was the only time he went more than four games without scoring. Pastrnak does have six assists during his goal drought, so he is contributing in other ways, but the 28-year-old forward is paid an average of $11.25 million per season to score goals at a high rate.
One area where Pastrnak’s lack of goal scoring is being felt is the power play. He has just one goal with the man advantage in the last 11 games. It’s one of several reasons why Boston’s power play is really struggling of late (more on that below).
Special teams must improve
The Bruins came into Saturday’s game with the third-worst power play in the league. This unit has scored on just 12.5 percent of its opportunities this season, and it was unable to build much momentum versus the Senators’ 24th-ranked penalty kill with an 0-for-3 showing.
Boston got the first power play of the game with 5:34 left in the opening period. The B’s generated four shots, two scoring chances and one high-danger chance over the two minutes, but Senators goalie Linus Ullmark stood tall in net.
One issue for the Bruins on the power play has been a lack of aggressiveness. This was evident during Boston’s power play late in the second period when it squandered a couple of potential scoring chances by overpassing. They ended up with zero shots on net during this power play. The B’s need to have more of a shoot-first mentality with the man advantage. Get pucks to the net and capitalize on the rebounds.
The Bruins rank 23rd in the league with just 24 5-on-5 goals scored through 16 games. They need the power play to provide some much-needed goals while they sort out their scoring issues at even strength.
Meanwhile, Boston’s penalty kill continues to struggle. The Senators took the lead with just 7.8 seconds remaining in the first period when Josh Norris blasted a one-timer past Jeremy Swayman. Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov chased after the puck and left Norris all alone.
Penalty killing has been among Boston’s primary strengths for a long time. In fact, the Bruins’ penalty kill has been a top 10 unit for five straight seasons. The PK has taken a huge step back this year, though, ranking 24th with a 75.4 percent success rate.
Special teams are often the difference between earning two points or none, and in too many games this season the power play and/or penalty kill have let the Bruins down.
