By: Nathan Anderson | Follow me on Twitter @nathandrsn
The Bruins were one of the best offensive teams in the regular season, only trailing the Edmonton Oilers in goals scored. However, the playoffs are a different beast. If the Bruins make a deep run, it will likely be thanks to their league-leading defense.
Unfortunately, anyone who expected the Bruins to breeze through the playoffs as they did in the regular season has been wrong so far. The Panthers have proven to be a scrappy team with no problem hanging around with the Bruins through the first three games. Game three was a relieving sight for fans. After games one and two were not entirely convincing, game three felt the most like watching the regular season we’ve seen so far.
The defensemen’s play for the Bruins is a big reason for the disparity in performance quality. One of the significant changes Jim Montgomery made when he took over the head coaching job was revamping how the defensemen got involved in the play. It was noticeable during the regular season how much more freedom the defense was afforded in joining the offense, and it was a big reason for the team’s offensive dominance this year.
In games one and two, the Bruins’ defense struggled both offensively and defensively. Important players like Hampus Lindholm struggled to find the form that made him a quiet Norris contender, and role players like Connor Clifton struggled to make an impact in the same way that earned him the final lineup spot to start the playoffs.
Compounding those issues were big turnovers by Dmitry Orlov and Charlie McAvoy, leading to goals in games one and two, respectively. In game one, the Bruins were able to get away with some sloppiness, as the Panthers made it easy for them by settling for shots from the point for most of the game, which Vezina-favorite Linus Ullmark was able to handle easily.
In the second game, however, McAvoy’s turnover came at a heavy price. In a one-goal game, the turnover led to what would end up being the game-winning goal. The Panthers scored six in game two, and as a whole, the defensive unit was a shadow of its regular season self. As a result, the Bruins found themselves leaving Boston in a tied series.
In game three, the defensemen played much better. Orlov got involved offensively, chipping in with two assists, and McAvoy set the tone each and every period. As someone who has been critical of him in the past, McAvoy impressed me in game three with the way he stepped up physically and set the bar for how the Bruins would play on Friday.
Matt Grzelcyk stepped in for Clifton and played well, and Lindholm looked much more like the player we’ve come to love. The defense stepped up and made life much more manageable for Ullmark, who was playing not quite 100% after he appeared to tweak something early in game two. If they can maintain the level of play they showed in game three, the defensemen will lead the Bruins to great results. Now that they’ve gotten the nerves out of their system, I have no doubt that we’ll see a lot more of what we watched in game three rather than what was shown in the first two matchups.
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