Bruins power play missing in action
A drastic overhaul could be in order
A day off, their first since Oct. 25, should give the Bruins' players plenty of time to hang their heads in shame.
After a dismal 0-for-3 performance against Detroit with a man-advantage, including just two shots on goal (and hardly presenting the Red Wings with a threat), the Bruins' power play is now officially last in the NHL at 11.5 percent.
Since scoring four times on the man-advantage against Carolina in their second game of the season, the Bruins are 2-for-39 (5.1 percent). If that doesn't turn your stomach, this might: Boston enters Thursday night's game with Montreal without a power-play goal in its last 22 opportunities. With stats like that, it's no wonder that the 5-on-5 offense can't break through despite some excellent, hard-working shifts.
A slight tail-off in production was expected after star playmaker Marc Savard left the lineup with a broken foot before the Bruins' Oct. 21 game against Nashville. But just two weeks into Savard's absence, the Bruins' power play is anchoring the NHL rankings.
Despite some faint signs of progress (including a goal last Thursday seconds after an expired power play), coach Claude Julien started to make some personnel changes Sunday in the third period in New York. Those moves did little to help Boston on its two man-advantages against the Rangers, so Julien made more switches in Detroit.
The problem is, the changes he made didn't work. Possibly the most egregious mistake was moving Zdeno Chara to the second unit, where his power-play ice time was reduced to just 1:52 of the club's six minutes. Chara is goal-less on the year and has struggled getting his record-fast shot through from the point. But unless Julien is trying some psychological ploys with his captain, the way to get the giant defenseman -- who scored a career-high 19 goals (11 on the power play) last season -- going is not by leaving him on the bench during power plays.
Even more out of the loop were forwards Michael Ryder and Marco Sturm, who each logged less than a minute of ice time on the power play. Regular fixtures on the power play until the Detroit game, Sturm (0 goals) and Ryder (1 goal) have been awful in taking advantage of opposing teams' penalties. But they shouldn't be the scapegoats.
As long as he uses power-play units with little or no practice time together, Julien might as well keep most of his power play spots as rewards for players with the hot hand. For example, Ryder was having one of his best games in a while with a couple shots on net and a hit post during 5-on-5 play on a reunited line with David Krejci and Blake Wheeler. He might've been able to carry over his amped-up game to the power play.
Getting grinders Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka into the mix was a worthwhile gamble. However, young players like that can't change their game after earning some of those coveted penalty minutes and should have to fight for that time during their regular shifts.
Playing the hot hand might be a little radical, but when the numbers are as dismal as they are now, it's time to think outside the box. After all, Dennis Wideman rewarded Julien for his team-high 4:32 of power-play ice time by not registering one man-advantage shot on goal the entire night. If that doesn't scream for a spot on the pine, I don't know what does.
There are more than 10 players on the Bruins' active roster capable of reviving the power play. It's just a matter of finding the right ones at the right times. That group would definitely include Chara at all times, and an open audition for others could be the way to get the offense going.
