Bruins still looking for offensive spark after coaching change originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins have played better since firing Jim Montgomery and elevating Joe Sacco to interim head coach last week. But one glaring problem that persists despite the coaching change is the lack of consistent goalscoring.
And in an NHL where speed and skill are absolutely essential to winning games for long stretches, the Bruins have failed time and time again during the 2024-25 season.
that of Tuesday evening 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at TD Garden was just the latest example. And not only did the Bruins fail to score against the Canucks, but the winning goal was scored by Jake DeBrusk, who Boston lets free agency run wild after averaging 23.6 goals over the past three seasons.
The Bruins were shut out for the fourth time this season, which only happened twice in 82 games last year. This shutout was a little different from the previous three shutouts, however. The Bruins actually generated a ton of scoring chances, but they just couldn’t finish.
“We just have to start burying our chances,” Sacco said after the match. “I think we’re giving ourselves a chance to get in games now. The guys are defending hard, but offensively we need to mobilize some guys and find their scoring touch.”
Here is the final tally of important shooting measurements (numbers 5 versus 5 in parentheses):
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Shooting attempts: 72-31 (57-23) Bruins
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Shots on goal: 33-15 (25-12) Bruins
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Scoring opportunities: 36-11 (27-8) Bruins
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High Danger Chances: 18-2 (13-1) Bruins
This heat map, via the natural statistics trickshows how dominant the Bruins were in the offensive zone (the more red, the better) and how non-existent the Canucks offense was throughout the game except for one goal on the power play.
“I think we create a lot of chances,” Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei said. “We’re playing the right way. It’s going to come.”
The Bruins played an almost impeccable defensive game. They gave up season lows in shots on goal (12), scoring chances (eight) and high-danger chances (one) at 5-on-5. The Canucks were very lucky to leaving Boston with two points after generating almost nothing at even strength.
“We just have to continue to play the right way,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “We emphasize defense here and we do a great job. I think it’s helped our offensive game, we just can’t score.”
The Bruins haven’t scored more than two goals in six straight games. They have reached the three-goal mark in just eight of their 23 games.
Will the dam eventually break? There are some signs that suggest this might be the case.
In the three games since Sacco took over as head coach, the Bruins have a 187-142 edge in shot attempts, a 93-57 edge in shots on goal, a 87-48 in scoring chances and a 37-13 margin in height. -risks of danger. They only scored three times in that span despite tilting the ice so heavily in their favor.
But if the Bruins continue to generate shots and scoring chances at this rate, they will eventually break through. This team isn’t loaded with elite skills, but there is way too much talent for this group to rank dead last with 2.22 goals per game and have the worst power play with a 12.4 success rate for hundred. It’s also a little surreal that the Bruins have played 13 home games and only scored one third-period goal in those matchups. That’s one goal in 260 minutes of third-period hockey at home.
But the Bruins can’t just wait for their shooting percentage to reach normal levels. They must continue to attack and create their own chances.
The list of Bruins players struggling to make an impact is long and includes many of the team’s best forwards.
Charlie Coyle scored a career-high 25 goals last season. He has four goals in 23 games. Pavel Zacha has scored 21 goals in each of the last two seasons. He has three goals in 23 matches. Trent Frederic scored a career-high 18 goals last season. He also scored three goals in 23 games, including two in a November 16 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Morgan Geekie, who started the season as a second-line right winger, has scored just one goal in 18 games after finding the back of the net a career-high 17 times last season.
Elias Lindholm signed a seven-year contract worth $54.25 million in free agency to be the Bruins’ No. 1 center. He has one goal in his last 19 games and no assists in his last eight games. It’s a worrying sign for a player whose scoring is on course to decline for a third consecutive campaign.
Even David Pastrnak, who leads the team in goals (eight) and assists (11), has not scored in his last five games and has two goals in his last 14 contests.
The Bruins have made improvements defensively and on the penalty kill since Sacco took over on the bench. The team’s level of competition and attention to detail has also improved. All of these factors have given the Bruins a chance to win games consistently, which is a positive step forward.
But those improvements won’t mean much if this team continues to struggle to score and can’t find any consistency on the power play. Scoring less than 2.5 goals per game and failing to generate any momentum with the power play is not a recipe for reaching the playoffs.
“We have a lot of guys who can score, and it’s a long season,” Lohrei said. “It’s about to start for us.”
