Great Power Play, No Defense: Will The 'Bizarro Bruins' Continue To Show Up?
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins are in the Bizarro World.
Much like the classic Seinfeld episode, we're seeing the complete opposite of what we've been used to seeing from the Black & Gold. It's like they got sucked into a portal and emerged from another dimension as an inverse of themselves.
What's this? An aggressive, productive power play? A swiss cheese defense? I watched the Bruins' latest strong performance on the man advantage and thought, "We're in the Bizarro World". We are currently witnessing the Bizarro Bruins.
I wish I could say I coined that term, but it's already been written and tweeted. And it's not surprising that so many people have thought the same thing: it's more appropriate than any other Bruins season in recent memory.
The Bruins' struggles on defense to begin this season are well-documented. Entering tonight, they rank 29th in the NHL in goals against per game (4.2) and 27th with a 72.2% success rate on the usually-strong penalty kill. They're turning the puck over at an alarming rate and playing poorly as a unit in their own end. It's not the Bruins you're used to watching.
But what really lands this Bruins team in the Bizarro World is their power play. They rank FIRST in the league with a ridiculous 38.9% (7-for-18) scoring rate on the man advantage. Their 7 PP goals lead the league, despite coming with the 19th-most opportunities.
Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe wrote an insightful feature this week on the Bruins' improved power play, led by the first unit of David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Spooner, Loui Eriksson, and Torey Krug. The new style is faster and more aggressive, and it came from GM Don Sweeney's slight shift in philosophy.
"We have to have more aggression in our game," Sweeney said in May describing his vision for the team when taking over for Peter Chiarelli. "We need to get back to that mentality, and we certainly have a number of players to lead in that direction and that charge, and if other players aren't willing to do that, then we're going to make sure we find and identify the players that are."
The player leading the charge is David Krejci, who is off to one of the best starts of his career with 9 points in 5 games. Torey Krug is also establishing himself as a legit No. 1 power play quarterback at the point, tying Krejci for the league lead in power play points with 5.
The team's ridiculous success rate on the power play through 5 games is far from sustainable - they're only averaging about one more shot attempt per power play opportunity than they did last season - but they do pass the eye test. They're moving faster and smoother, making better passes, and playing more aggressive with shots and rebounds around the net. They're not over-passing and trying to go for perfect shots - or they're not "forcing plays," as Bergeron told the Globe.
Unlike the defense and penalty kill, the Bruins power play is playing with confidence and chemistry. They may not ultimately lead the league, but they are clearly much improved in that department and present problems for opposing PK units.
When Dennis Seidenberg returns and the Bruins' power play comes back to Earth a bit, perhaps the Bruins will nudge themselves out of the Bizarro World. But the surprising changes in the team's strengths and weaknesses appear here to stay, at least for the time being. With the Philadelphia Flyers and their 19th-ranked PK coming to Boston Wednesday night, more of the same production could come when the Bruins have the man advantage.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
