By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter / X @EamonnMcLean44
After a second-round exit at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, the Boston Bruins knew that changes were needed. While the loss exposed several areas of concern, the B’s power play caught the attention of both Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery and General Manager Don Sweeney.
“Now you also have to have production, so our power play in the second part of the year was a bit of an Achilles for us,” Sweeney told media members at Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday. The Bruins power play had a regular-season success rate of 22.2%, good for 14th in the National Hockey League last season. However, that number dropped to 21.2% in the postseason.
The retirement of Patrice Bergeron posed many challenges last season. Bergeron occupied the bumper on the Bruins’ top unit for most of his tenure in Boston, and his departure forced the B’s to look for a new occupant. With the signing of Elias Lindholm this summer, the Bruins hope to have found a solution.
“I just think he gives us more options on power play entries and in zone,” Montgomery said when asked about Lindholm. “If you leave him alone, he’s going to score. So they’re going to have to be aware of where he is now, so now you’ve got a lot more killer instinct in the power play and options that the penalty kill has to worry about.“.
While Lindholm is coming off a dip in production last season, there is reason to believe he can elevate the Bruins’ power play. The Boden, Sweden native is three years removed from a 42-goal campaign with the Calgary Flames and has scored 20 or more goals four times in his career. If Lindholm can return to form in Boston, the B’s power play has added a significant weapon.
While the bumper changes, some things remain the same. “We fully expect Charlie McAvoy to be the power play one quarterback back there,” Montgomery announced to the media.
Ever since the departure of power play stalwart Torey Krug in 2020, the Bruins have sought a dependable creator on the backend. While McAvoy is entering his ninth season with the B’s, Montgomery still believes he has room to grow. “You know, he’s still a little bit in the infancy of his development as a power play quarterback when really I think this might be his fourth year or going into his fourth year, and two years ago was a little bit of a botched year because he was out for the first two months.“.
The Long Beach, New York native has registered 45 or more assists twice in his career, making him capable of feeding David Pastrnak for one-timers from the faceoff circle. While McAvoy has established himself as a dependable playmaker, the Bruins’ coaching staff wants to see him shoot more.
“He knows he needs to pound more pucks, and that’s going to open up elbows more, and it’s going to open up more rebound chances, and we look forward to his growth in that area,” added Montgomery. McAvoy recorded a career-high 12 goals last season, and if he can continue to build on that total, the Bruins power play could be more prolific. Can they improve on their results from last season? With a deeper unit on paper, we can expect them to do just that.
Leave a Reply