By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter / X @Jainchill_Ryan
Since the Boston Bruins promoted Joe Sacco to the Interim Head Coach position, the team has won four of six games, including last night’s 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on the organization’s centennial birthday. In the first six games under Sacco, one aspect of play that has been strong for the Bruins is their play in their own zone, both while shorthanded and while at five-on-five.
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Over this six-game stretch, the Bruins have outscored opponents 16-11, including a 1-0 blanking of the Utah Hockey Club to begin Sacco’s tenure. Nine of the 11 goals allowed have come at even strength, with the two outliers coming in the team’s 2-0 shutout at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks last Tuesday. The 11 goals against over that stretch ties them with Utah for the least allowed over the previous six games.
In their own zone, the Bruins have seen an improvement in coverage, which leads to limiting shots against. In the six-game stretch, the team has allowed an average of 24.33 shots against per game, which is towards the top of the league in that category. This has led goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo to combine for a .925 save percentage in the last six games and only allow ten goals as a tandem, excluding the empty net goal allowed against Vancouver.
Breakouts have also seen improvements under Sacco. Getting the puck out of their own zone was something that ailed the Bruins in the beginning of the season, as too many times, a failed breakout would lead to a goal against them. Getting the puck out of the zone benefits the team drastically, including spending more time in the offensive zone and having chances off the rush.
For example, in the Bruins’ 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Wednesday, Brandon Carlo took the open ice in his own zone to find a streaking David Pastrnak. While Pastrnak’s initial feed to Pavel Zacha was blocked, a strong forecheck led to Zacha finding Morgan Geekie for a backdoor goal. The goal, which gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead after the Islanders had netted the last two, started with a clean breakout from Carlo.
The penalty kill has also significantly improved over the last six games. The Bruins are 14 of 15 with a man short, with the lone goal against coming off the stick of former Bruin Jake DeBrusk. This puts the team at 93.3% on the kill over the six-game stretch with Sacco behind the bench. Despite the team still killing at 78.5%, these six games have seen the Bruins limit chances against and see improvements in coverage and in goal.
Improvements on the penalty kill have also led to chances for the Bruins offensively. Yesterday, Charlie McAvoy intercepted a pass and went in clean on Canadiens’ goaltender Cayden Primeau, finishing a pretty forehand-backhand move to tally his second of the game. This was the team’s first shorthanded marker since Zacha’s goal on opening night and would end up being the game-winning goal.
For Swayman and Korpisalo, both netminders have reaped the benefits of improved defensive zone coverages. With Sacco rolling with a two/one split for his netminders, both goaltenders have seen improvements in their own numbers and the team’s overall numbers. Since Sacco took over, Swayman is 2-2-0, allowing seven goals against in four games. The record is deceiving, however, as the Bruins have scored only one goal in Swayman’s two losses. On the other hand, Korpisalo is 2-0 under the new coach, shutting out Utah in Sacco’s first game and allowing three in the victory over the Islanders. The Bruins have also been credited with 88 shot blocks over the last six games, another reason for the improvements for the players and their goalies.
These improvements have allowed the Bruins to find their game in their own zone, which, coming into the season, was marked as their strength. For Swayman and Korpisalo, having opposing players covered and seeing shots allows them to gain confidence and backstop their team to victory regularly. While the scoring consistency has not quite been there, the defensive improvements have given the Bruins their best chance to win over Sacco’s first six games as head coach.
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