Bruins takeaway: A terrible third period costs the Bs a loss to Ullmark and the Senators originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON – The Bruins will continue to be an average team (or worse) until they figure out how to play better in the third period.
Boston’s performance in the final 20 minutes of regulation against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night was awful, and it ended up costing the Bruins a 3-2 overtime loss.
The score was tied at two goals apiece at the start of the third period. The Bruins were at home with a great opportunity to pick up 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 down the stretch.
Boston had no (!) shots on goal 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 no shots on goal in the third period was against the Vancouver Canucks on December 21, 2006. by Kevin Paul Dupont from The Boston Globe.
The Bruins have scored just five third-period goals this season, and they’ve allowed 16. Boston’s minus-11 third-period goal differential is the worst in the league. The Bruins’ minus-41 third-period shot differential is second-worst in the league.
“I don’t have an answer,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said. said during his post-match press conference when asked why third periods have been a problem for his team.
What should the team do to resolve this issue?
“Talk about it, find out why, look at what we’re doing from a sports science perspective,” Montgomery said. “We will find answers, but right now I don’t have an answer for you.”
Montgomery was also asked after the game if he wondered if the players were listening to his messages.
“No, I don’t question that,” Montgomery replied.
He was then asked what was stopping the message from reaching the players?
“It’s up to you to figure this out and find a reason,” Montgomery said. “We just weren’t good enough. You can write down what you think is the unease in the team and what is happening. We’re just not playing well enough.
Here are three more takeaways from the Bruins-Senators.
Brad Marchand warms up after slow start
The Boston captain is starting to find his rhythm.
Marchand has scored four goals and two assists in his last six games, including a second-period goal against the Senators that gave his team a 2-1 advantage. The total also gave Marchand 290 career goals at even strength, which is the second most in team history.
Marchand went eight games without scoring a goal to start the season, but it’s safe to say the drought is over. He has looked a lot more like himself in the last two weeks. He was aggressive offensively (19 shots in his last five games) and more tenacious in battles for the puck.
Marchand now has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 16 games, which places him two points behind David Pastrnak for the team’s leading scorer.
Marchand seemed to be I’m a little sore after a collision in the third period, but he managed to finish the match.
David Pastrnak’s goal drought extended
David Pastrnak is one of the best scorers in the league. His 329 goals since the start of the 2016-17 campaign place him fourth in the sport. But lately, finding the back of the net has proven to be a difficult task for the superstar right winger.
Pastrnak has now gone seven matches 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 has six assists during his goal drought, so he contributes 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 scoring is felt is on the power play. He has only scored one goal with the power play in the last 11 games. This is one of many reasons why Boston’s power play is really struggling lately (more on that below).
Special teams need to improve
The Bruins entered Saturday’s game with the third-worst power play in the league. This unit has scored on just 12.5 percent of its chances this season, and it failed to create much momentum against the 24th-ranked Senators shorthanded with an 0-for-3 performance.
Boston got the first power play of the game with 5:34 left in the first period. The B’s generated four shots, two scoring chances and a high-danger chance in the two minutes, but Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark stood tall in front of the net.
A problem for the Bruins on the power play has been a lack of aggression. This was evident on Boston’s power play late in the second period, when they squandered a few potential scoring chances by going out of bounds. They ended up with zero shots on goal on 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 rebounds.
The Bruins rank 23rd in the league with just 24 goals scored at 5-on-5 in 16 games. They need the power play to score some much-needed goals while they solve their scoring problems at even strength.
Meanwhile, Boston’s penalty kill continues to struggle. The Senators took the lead with just 7.8 seconds left in the first period when Josh Norris fired a one-timer past Jeremy Swayman. Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov chased the puck and left Norris all alone.
Criminal executions have long been one of Boston’s greatest assets. In fact, the Bruins penalty kill has been in the top 10 for five straight seasons. The PK took a huge step back this year, however, ranking 24th with a 75.4 percent success rate.
Special teams are often the difference between winning two points or none, and in too many games this season the power play and/or penalty killing has let the Bruins down.
