By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
Historically, the Boston Bruins have been a team shaped by their defensive identity, and that has come with penalty kill success. However, the Bruins’ penalty kill was below average last season, not nearly as bad as the power play, but it was nothing to be happy about. Finishing at a rate of 76.3%, the success is down significantly from the 87.3% number that led the league during the 2022-23 season. The Bruins’ penalty kill rate has not been this low since the 1985-86 season, when it finished at 76.0%.
The Bruins were shorthanded 236 times throughout the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 2.88 times per game. The black and gold scored six times while shorthanded, but also allowed 56 goals with a man down. There were seven games where the Bruins allowed three power play goals. Coupled with lineup and coaching changes, the penalty kill struggled to click last season. The Bruins will be looking for their penalty kill unit to bounce back to typical Bruins form this upcoming season.
What Went Wrong
The Bruins’ penalty kill went from an eighth-ranked rate of 82.5% in 2023-24 to a 24th-ranked rate of 76.3%. On the day of Jim Montgomery’s firing, the Bruins were number one in times shorthanded with 78. They allowed 19 goals at that point, killing penalties at a 75.6% rate. In the 62 games that followed the coaching change, the Bruins were shorthanded 158 times. That means that out of the 236 times the Bruins were shorthanded last season, 78, or 33%, came in the first 20 games.
The Boston Bruins’ penalty kill was not stable or consistent. They traded away some star penalty killers at the trade deadline in March. Brad Marchand is the franchise leader in shorthanded goals with 36, and Charlie Coyle was a mainstay on the PK unit. Trent Frederic occasionally appeared on the penalty kill as well. Short a coach on the bench, the assistants’ roles changed throughout the season, and Chris Kelly took over the penalty kill, inheriting an existing structure followed by many lineup changes. Now, he gets time during the offseason to figure it out.
What Needs to Change
The Boston Bruins had two skaters with over 100 penalty minutes for the first time since 2011-12. Nikita Zadorov led the NHL with 145, and Mark Kastelic’s 106 finished sixth in the league. The black and gold added Tanner Jeannot this summer, signing him to a five-year deal on July 1; Jeannot had 89 penalty minutes and finished #15 last season. Zadorov cleaned his game up towards the end of the season; before the Four Nations Face-Off, he averaged 2.05 PIMs/game, and after the tournament, that number was down to 1.17 PIMs/game.
The Bruins’ penalty kill struggled to maintain consistency, and part of that could have been due to the coaching roles changing. After Jim Montgomery’s firing, the Bruins’ penalty kill struggled. In December, the PK produced at a rate of 69.4%. January saw a rate of 73.7%. The Bruins struggled until the assistants changed roles, notably moving Chris Kelly from the power play to the penalty kill.
What is Changing
Assistant coach Chris Kelly took over the penalty kill during the season to help right the ship. Initially, he was running the power play, but the longtime penalty killer shifted roles as the Bruins’ bench was down one for the last 62 games. Kelly saw immediate success; the Bruins were killing penalties at an 80.7% rate in February and March. When the Bruins hired Marco Sturm, they retained Chris Kelly and defense coach Jay Leach, and brought in Steve Spott, who will oversee the power play, likely leaving the penalty kill duties to Chris Kelly. Given Kelly’s playing time on the penalty kill and spending the last four seasons working with a substantial penalty kill leader in Joe Sacco, who is off to New York, Chris Kelly is in a good position to pick up the work he started during the regular season. The offseason gives Kelly time to craft his ideal penalty kill and work the new additions into the lineup.
Sean Kuraly has returned to the Boston Bruins, and with that, he will likely return to the Bruins’ penalty kill. A familiar face to the special teams here, Kuraly brings the grit and energy that make fourth-line centers valuable. He spent four years in Columbus, playing meaningful penalty kill minutes every year, and his first stint in Boston was filled with special teams time.
The Bruins loaded up on depth additions this summer, but Jordan Harris provides the coaching staff with a versatile defensive option if he lands as the team’s seventh defenseman. When he gets into the lineup, Harris can provide for the Bruins’ penalty kill, coming to Boston with years of PK experience with the Canadiens.
How It Should Look
Marco Sturm and Chris Kelly’s task of putting together the penalty kill has likely started, but training camp and preseason will be crucial for the coaching staff to finalize their special teams. This first penalty kill unit will have chemistry with each other, and all of them began working with Chris Kelly in a PK role last season:
E. Lindholm – Zacha
Zadorov – Peeke
Elias Lindholm and Zacha played on the penalty kill a lot together last season, and both forwards have a well-established two-way game that makes them a good pair. They were on the ice for 14 goals against in over 90 shorthanded minutes played together; compare that to the second forward pair of Coyle-Beecher, who were on the ice for 11 goals against in 48 minutes together. With Chris Kelly taking over, he can work with a pair with existing chemistry to strengthen the penalty kill. Both defensemen are coming off seasons with 100 blocked shots, and the two have experience together on the penalty kill, playing 40 minutes together with a goal differential of -2.
The second unit is more open, similar to the power play. Chris Kelly had the opportunity to see trade deadline additions and how they played on the penalty kill, and the return of Hampus Lindholm and the addition of free agency acquisitions can strengthen the group. The second penalty kill unit will be gritty and could look like this:
Kuraly – Minten
H. Lindholm – Jokiharju
Sean Kuraly will likely return to the Bruins’ penalty kill unit, much like he did his first time here. Fraser Minten spent time on the penalty kill after his acquisition at the trade deadline, and if he lands a roster spot at training camp, he could be a candidate for the penalty kill group. Henri Jokiharju comes with experience from when he was in Buffalo, and immediately became a shutdown defenseman upon his arrival in Boston. Hampus Lindholm’s return will be significant for the Bruins, and he will likely slot right back into the penalty kill – even taking on a first pair role if Zadorov is in the penalty box.
Final Thoughts
With all the competition for the bottom six, the Bruins’ penalty kill can look very different come October 8. These eight guys are not the only viable options for the Bruins, either. Look no further than the Haverhill-native Jordan Harris, who served as a strong option for Montreal during his playing days north of the border. Marat Khusnutdinov served as a valuable penalty kill option for the Minnesota Wild and could also slot into that role for the black and gold. Johnny Beecher is another name that will circle the penalty kill group, as he will be competing for his spot on the roster at training camp and has a history of killing penalties for the Bruins before.
The Bruins had some steps to take to fix the penalty kill. Chris Kelly has the offseason to work on his ideal shorthanded setup, which he can and will likely implement on day one of training camp. If he can pick up where he left off last season, particularly the numbers from February and March, there is no reason why the Bruins’ penalty kill couldn’t be back to the way we are used to seeing.
Leave a Reply