Coming off a 3-2 overtime defeat in Game 2, the Boston Bruins will look to regain control of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final when the series shifts to St. Louis Saturday night.
The Boston Bruins played outstanding in their Game 1 victory, easily winning 4-2 after trailing 2-0 after the first period. Game 2, not so much.
After a very high scoring back and forth first period, there was not another goal until overtime; with the Blues scoring less than 4 minutes in.
As the series now 1-1, we are headed to St. Louis for Game 3, where the Bruins need to come out on top in order to avoid falling behind in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Now, there are many things that didn’t go their way in Game 2 that lead to their defeat, as they will look to adjust and build on the good things as the Boston Bruins look to take back control of the series Saturday night.
1. The top line needs to get on the board
The Patrice Bergeron line is the most important line on this Bruins team. The team almost relies on the success of their “Perfection Line”. Thankfully, the secondary scoring has stepped up in this playoff run; but we’ll get to that in a minute.
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Heading into the Stanley Cup Final, the top line has been dynamite. Patrice Bergeron had 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points. Brad Marchand brought 7 goals and 11 assists for a team high 18 points.
David Pastrnak had 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points of his own. Combined, the Bruins’ top line had a whopping 22 goals, 24 assists for 46 points on 175 shots. Production like that is one of the reasons as to why the Bruins are still playing hockey.
The Final has been a completely different story. Marchand is the only member of the top line with a goal; his happened to be an empty netter at the end of Game 1. David Pastrnak has one assist that came on the opening goal in Game 2.
The top line has one goal, one assist and 17 shots in the two games played against the Blues so far. The Blues have done a very good job at shutting down one of the best lines in hockey.
If the Bruins are going to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup, the Bergeron line needs to step up. If they are unable to get anything going early on in Game 3, Cassidy should not be afraid to switch the lines up a little bit.
Oh, one more thing, they need to SHOOT THE PUCK!
2. The power play has to be more effective
The 2018-2019 Boston Bruins have been very effective on the power-play. During the regular season, the Bruins were 65/251 for a 25.9 percent.
The Bruins were third in the entire NHL behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
Heading into the Cup Final the Bruins led the playoffs in power play scoring. They were 17/50 for a 34 percent rate. So far, in these past 2 games, the Bruins have gone 2/10 on the power play. Now, some of this could be a due to the fact that St. Louis is great on the penalty kill; let’s take a look at some of the stats.
During the regular season, the Blues were 9th in the NHL with a 81.5 percent penalty kill rate, allowing only 43 goals on 232 chances. Heading into this series with Boston, the Blues allowed 9 goals on 41 chances, for a 78.1 percent penalty kill rate. So far this series, the Blues have shut down the Boston power play.
You can partially blame the Bruins struggles based on the fact that the Blues have a good penalty kill, but they still have got to find a way to get something going.
It seems that it is becoming a habit where they just pass the puck around like a hot potato when they’re in the Blues’ zone, and especially on the power play. Everyone is looking for the highlight reel pass, when in reality we just need pucks on net. When there are shots on goal, that increases the chance that a goal will be scored; a tipped puck here, rebound there and next thing you know the puck is in the back of the net and the goalie is wondering where it went.
Let’s hope the Bruins power play wakes up in Game 3. There aren’t going to be many chances, so the Boston Bruins have to take advantage of any chance they can when the St. Louis Blues go shorthanded.
3. Secondary scoring looks to stay hot
One of the main reasons that the Boston Bruins have been able to get deep in the playoffs is due to the fact that the secondary scoring has stepped up.
With Bergeron-Marchand-Pastrnak struggling to far in the Stanley Cup, players like Sean Kuraly and Joakim Nordstrom have stepped up with huge contribution as they both have a goal and an assist.
Deadline acquisition Charlie Coyle has also been productive in this deep playoff run. After the Bruins’ first goal in Game 2, he now has 7 goals and 6 assists; good for 5th on the team with 13 points. After 3 points so far in the Cup, Sean Kuraly now has 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points, good for 8th on the team in the playoffs.
Torey Krug leads all Bruins’ defenseman in playoff scoring. The heavy hitter has only one goal, but 11 assists for 12 points, good for 6th on the team. Charlie McAvoy is the next defenseman with 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points and is 10th on the team in scoring.
David Krejci is having himself a nice playoff run as well. Coming in at third on the team, the veteran winger has 14 points from 4 goals and 10 assists. No. 46 has yet to record a point against the Blues, but you can expect him to break the ice in Game 3. Linemate Jake DeBrusk has 8 points himself, off 3 goals and five assists, including his first Final’s point coming in Game 2 on the Charlie Coyle goal.
If the top line struggles in Game 3, the players mentioned above have to pickup the slack. A few other guys are looking to break through and contribute as well. I expect the whole roster to be hungry and eager to contribute with so much on the line in a crucial Game 3.
Saturday night is a very important game. Being up 2-1 in the Stanley Cup is much different from being down 1-2. With the series now a best of 5, every game is important, every game is the biggest game of the season. The series has now shifted to St. Louis, where the Blues are 5-5 in the postseason. The Bruins are 5-2 on the road in the playoffs.
Let’s hope the Boston Bruins can improve on that road record.
Go B’s.