Kalman: Offensive State Of Mind Will Aid Bruins In Golden State
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bruins rookie forward David Pastrnak led all players with seven shots on net and led all Boston players with 10 shot attempts in the 2-1 overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
Yet on his best scoring chance of the game, a 2-on-1 pass from Brad Marchand, Pastrnak opted to make a move to get closer to the net rather than shoot from out around the hash marks. No shot attempt came after a defender closed the gap on Pastrnak and broke up the play.
If the Bruins are going to salvage some modicum of respectability on their upcoming four-game Western Conference road trip, which starts against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, they're going to have to leave their itch to get fancy in Boston and adopt a sniper's mentality.
In other words, they have to ignore what center Carl Soderberg had to say about the Bruins' need to score more when he said after the win against the Jets: "We can score more for sure, but as long as we don't give up too much we don't have to score as much either. So I think the offense is coming from good defense, and that's what we want to keep doing."
Sure, the Bruins have to continue to play tight defense. But they have to add some attacking thoughts to their mindset. They have scored two goals or fewer in seven of their past eight games, and goal totals like that just aren't going to cut it in California against the Ducks, Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks. All three are, in general manager Peter Chiarelli's language, heavy teams. They have big defensemen and outstanding goaltenders. Basically, they've taken the Bruins model for building a team and accentuated the big and bad parts.
With an average of 2.46 goals scored per game for the season, the Bruins are 21st in the NHL. They're 20th in the League in shots per game at 29.8. No one expects them to suddenly start scoring the way they did last season, especially with the roster in its current banged-up state without center David Krejci and defenseman/power-play net-front presence Zdeno Chara. But there are enough players with an offensive pedigree in the lineup that the Bruins should be taking some of the pressure of their defense and goaltending with a couple more goals a week.
"I don't think we're creating enough opportunities for ourselves. You know, we're a little bit disjointed on rushes. So you've got to build from that. I think we're just making it too easy on defense," forward Reilly Smith said.
Smith is one of the Bruins' main culprits in their scoring slump. He has no points in his past eight games. Brad Marchand missed a couple games because of injury during his struggles. He has one point in his past six games. Patrice Bergeron has one point in his past four and Seth Griffith has one point in his past seven.
Coach Claude Julien sees a multitude of things that are conspiring to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard. Net-front presence has to increase and players have to relax more with the puck and be a little bit smarter about puck management. These things start with the players the Bruins count on the most.
"A lot of our players right now that score goals, I don't think they're at the top of their game. And they're fighting it a little bit, and we just have to look at who has scored lately and who hasn't," Julien said. "We need a little bit more production from certain guys that should be giving it to us when we're a little bit challenged. But I think that's one of the things. You know, you're forcing plays, you're getting frustrated, and you know, instead of doing the right thing you're trying to do a little bit more and it ends up taking away scoring chances. So, I think we need to – we've been working on it, you've seen us – we're really trying to get our offense going here."
On a positive note, Milan Lucic has scored in two straight games and has found some chemistry with Soderberg and Loui Eriksson.
If Pastrnak doesn't implode under the pressure of playing in the NHL as an 18-year-old or trying to be a solid two-way player, Julien has the option to boost another line's offensive capabilities by moving Smith or Marchand to that trio. There has to be some semblance of an offensive game left in the hands of Daniel Paille or Simon Gagne (I think).
If the Bruins commit themselves to the battles and getting to the net, they should also get more power plays if they don't get more goals. Even without Chara and Krejci, the Bruins' offense could get goosed by giving the likes of Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Soderberg and Smith opportunities to work their magic on the man-advantage more.
There's a blueprint for success on this road trip. If they can grab a couple points in California and don't fall into the trap game at the end in Arizona on Saturday, they'll be able to savor their four days off before their next game after the trip ends. It all starts with thinking more about goals and less about attractive plays.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
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