Why the Bruins are slumping (and how to snap out of it)

Why the Bruins are slumping (and how to snap out of it)

It’s official folks the Boston Bruins are slumping winning only one of their five games since the allstar break is it something to be worried about what can they do to turn things around let’s talk about it on today’s episode of Locked on Boston Bruins you’re locked on Bruins your

Daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day What is up Bruin fans and welcome back to the locked on Boston Bruins podcast I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a Daily Show where we discuss all things spoked be today is Friday February 16th and I want to thank you so much for making lock on Bruins part of your daily

Routine it’s free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube part of the locked on podcast Network which means your Team every day and uh before we get into it I want to remind you as well that you can find the podcast on social media at locked NHL Bruins and

You can find me my dad jokes hogy thoughts ATC McLaren although I’m kind of taking a bit of a social media break from posting anyways still checking things over there Bruins losing last night to the Seattle Kraken and they are now just 1 three and one since the All-Star break and what’s kind

Of troubling is that all of these games have been played on home ICE they’re in the midst of a seven game home stand uh they’ve now lost three in a row and managed to score only one goal against the Seattle Kraken despite firing 37 shots on Joey dord including 16 in the

First period and things looked to get off to to a good start with David pook recording his 34th goal assisted by Pavo zaka and Charlie McAvoy uh but then Jordan Eberly tied things up before the end of the first period and then the Kraken went on to score three more

Unanswered to give them the 41 victory over the Boston Bruins now similar to the game the other night against the Tampa Bay Lightning uh the Bruins pretty much dominated this one that’s the thing it’s not as though they were outplayed by the Seattle Kraken by any stretch uh they again had 37 shots

On goal which is more than Seattle who managed only 26 in terms of shot attempts the Bruins had 72 versus 50 for Seattle so that’s a 59% advantage 58% advantage or 59% Advantage again in shots scoring chances 35 25 in favor of the Bruins High danger chances 15

Compared to eight in favor of the Bruins and then expected goals were 3.83 compared to 2.5 for the Bruins this is the game that on paper they could have won they should have won Joey dord played very well they just could not convert on their opportunities and that’s been a theme

Over this recent slump one three and one over their last five they’ve scored only 1.6 goals per game over that stretch which is the second fewest amount of goals since the All-Star break around the NHL per average what’s keeping them in it is defense they’re allowing only 2.6 goals

Which is good for uh you know middle of the pack for the Bruins in terms of Team defense but the scoring just isn’t there and we’ve talked about how the Bruins have been boosted by a pretty high PDO so far this season save percentage plus shooting percentage at five on

Five they’re still getting the saves in fact their save percentage is second in the NHL at five on five the shooting percentage is starting to fall a bit though and we’ve seen that over this recent stretch where they’re just not connecting uh they’re now sixth ranked when it comes to shooting percentage at

Five on five and the Bruins were also not able to capitalize on two power play opportunities last night whereas again they gave up a power play goal against I believe they’ve I don’t know the number but it’s a lot of games in a row that they’ve allowed at least one power play

Goal so the penalty kill hasn’t been especially strong as of late either uh which is unfortunate over this five-game stretch their penalty kill is only 66.7 so they’re allowing one power play goal for every three opportunities that ranks them 28th in the NHL in penalty kill since the

Allstar break their power play has been atrocious as well 5.3% only the Winnipeg Jets have scored fewer goals and have failed to connect on the power play over the last four that’s after trading for sha monan mind you and goes to show you yeah yeah if the goals start drying up you’re

Obviously going to have uh problems winning in the NHL and that’s been the main issue over the last little bit here uh the goal tending still been decent um overall team defense has been okay they are only allowing 2.6 goals but 1.6 goals for over the past five games that is the

Main reason why they are struggling uh after the game last night head coach Jim Montgomery said you know basically saying the same thing they need some some sandpaper goals here they need some guys to um get to those dirty areas gotta stick together gotta keep working gotta keep grinding he said he

Was happy with a lot of parts of their game but they’re not getting the results right now and sometimes you go through that through through the season Joey dor definitely came up big for them as David poo mentioned uh especially after the first goal maybe a little shaky for the goalie

But he bounced back in a huge way and it was a a great game for him you win special teams on the road Jordan Eberly said he scored the power play goal again that stood as or that that tied the game then they don’t allow any goals

Against on the uh Power Play Kill both of Bruins opportunities and um that’s just the way it goes sometimes we’re a good hockey team Morgan geeky said we know what we have in this room just a few details we have to clean up Puck are going to go in eventually and especially

If you are out shooting out attempting and getting more scoring chances more higher danger chances than the opposition uh you know you’re going To score sooner than later on the game winner uh Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlos slipped with the puck on a stick at the cracken Blue Line Eli tolven L an odd man Rush with Matty bers the other way finishing things off uh Carlo joked he might need to take some skating lessons but those

Things happened been through it plenty of times had some blooper nothing he hasn’t been through before but when they end up in the back of the net it definitely stings a little bit more but for him for the team nothing they can do about it they just have to shake things

Off keep doing what they’re doing keep getting pucks on net and hopefully things will turn around tomorrow against the uh Los Angeles Kings that’s a game that we’ll preview here later on in the podcast coming up we’re going to discuss what the Bruins can do to get back on track

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Add via trade they’re limited due to uh draft picks prospects cap space so trying to improve via trade is kind of dependent on being able to move out some money in the form of like I mean ideally Derek forbort possibly Matt grizzli and those same cap restrictions are what’s keeping them

From perhaps bringing up the best available Talent down in Providence now here’s the thing right now the Bruins have projected cap space of 61,500 th000 or less Oscar steen’s at that 800k Mark Jacob loo 787 500 yesper bfist and Danton and Anthony Rashard all at $775,000 that’s their cap hit

Ideally to infuse some offense into the lineup you’re getting John beer back up there he proficient in the faceoff dots he showed that he was able to put the puck in the back of the net earlier this season with five goals through 39 games not you know lighting the world on fire

But still decent numbers he hasn’t really popped down in Providence only one goal two assists in eight games but perhaps that’s just uh you know some psychological wear and tear being sent down after making the team at a training camp and and deservedly so we’d love to see John beer back up centering

The uh the fourth line but he’s more expensive than these guys right his cap hit is $925,000 so that’s an extra 150 over Rashard Heiden and bulist bulist currently centering the fourth line they only have 61,500 into the mix right now through 44 games he’s got 13 goals 25 assists for

38 points those are great numbers at the AHL for the first round pick but they’re prohibited by the salary cap because he is currently making at the NHL level 863 333 uh against the cap now what they could do is put m Matthew ptra on ltir he’s at

870 so put him on ltir he’s out for the season and you could recall Fabian lysel and maybe put him on the third line and try to get some some goals going here because that’s been their biggest problem over the last handful of games is their

Inability to to finish maybe you go van reams Yi lysel and you know you still have uh Heinen bokvist Steen Rashard to choose from when it comes to the bottom four my preference would be you know maybe send loo down Rashard back down and get um beer back up so that he’s

Centering a fourth line of Heinen Steen maybe loo as well those are two immediate things that they can do to shake things up Patra on ltir send Bist back down send Lao back down perhaps send Rashard back down and recall Johnny beer and bring Fabian lysel up give him a shot

Because again it’s going to be incredibly difficult to add via trade unless you want to trade a guy like leel or trade a Johnny Beacher but still you need the cap space there to make that happen if you’re adding anybody of significance with you know a standard player

Contract that’s above a million dollars then you’re going to have to move some money out ideally it’s Derek forbort whether or not not you I doubt you can trade him maybe you can put him on waivers again one of the reasons he’s there is to kill penalties and the

Bruins penalty kill has been pretty bad allowing one goal for every three opportunities over the past five games so what purpose is is he serving there but the easiest and quickest way to make some changes to infuse some energy into the lineup put ptra on ltir send somebody down be a bfist or

Rashard and recall Johnny Beacher and Fabian lysel again even with that there’s still some cap gymnastics because you only have 60,000 in available cap space you could save a little bit by putting Pon ltir and recalling lysel but you have to create a bit more in order

To have uh beer come in because he’s got that $925,000 cap hit so they gonna have to get a bit creative but it’s possible and they need to do it because something needs to change in the bottom six there just needs to be uh a shake up there I

Think to to get things going and hopefully they make some changes before tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Kings and it’s a game we’ll preview here as the podcast continues how would you like to get to know someone better in an hour than you would in a year understanding one

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Speaking of that holiday likely won’t record a podcast on Monday because it’s a family day up here in uh in Canada and uh be spending some time with the family hopefully watching the game against the stars as well now as it pertains to tomorrow’s game against the Kings this one starts at

12:30 in the afternoon it’s going to be all over TV up here in Canada it’s on every sportset channel and it’s a good opportunity for the Bruins to turn things around because the king’s kind of struggling lately as well 44 and two over their last 10 games they are coming

Off a win over the New Jersey Devils but they were just pasted the game before I believe seven nothing at the hands of the Buffalo Sabers they did beat Edmonton and Nashville prior to that so things looking a up a bit more say over the last five but overall the Kings uh struggling

And again this is a game the Bruins should be able to compete in pretty well now should note speaking of penalty killing the Kings have the League’s best penalty kill at an 87% success rate the Bruins have slipped to Ninth at 81.5 LA’s power play not especially great

They’re ranked 15th at 21.2% the Bruins are eighth 23.7 uh despite only scoring I believe once on the power play since the All-Star break Boston is fourth when it comes to team defense allowing only 2.59 goals per game the kings are sixth sorry fifth 2.65 offens is fairly similar as well

Boston’s 10th 3.31 goals per game that’s dropped obviously recently whereas the kings are at 3.08 David ridic has been locking things down and net for them recently cam Talbot only a 909 save percentage uh they’re LED in scoring by Adrien kempe who’s got 45 points in 51 games an kopar

Always a threat although he’s been struggling a little bit recently I got to keep an eye on is Quinton Byfield who’s got 39 points in 49 G games so far this season on the back end Drew dowy 27 points but still always dangerous their best player over their last five games

Is Byfield who’s got three goals and Five Points postu leads the way for the Bruins with six points pav zaka with two goals over the past five to lead the Bruins in that category so story will be can the Bruins get things going here and finish

This home stand on a positive note or will the Kings who have slipped to fourth in the Pacific Division and who are holding on to a wild card spot the first wild card spot can they get their rhythm going uh you know they recently made a coaching change they are still

Figuring things out under new head coach Jim Hillier uh so it’ll be very interesting to see which team here can uh can come out on top and the Bruins you know matina haven’t been great for them recently and they have two coming up here over the next few days the game

12:30 pm on Saturday against the Kings and then 1M against the Stars on Monday the Stars just dropped like nine goals on on Dallas or sorry on Nashville the other night and then maybe what the doctor ordered here is some bonding time for our Boston Bruins they’ll be heading

Out west next week on a road trip to Edmonton Calgary Vancouver and Seattle that could just be what the doctor ordered here uh maybe they’re just a little too comfortable at home right now and uh need that bonding time but they could also use a little shakeup roster

Wise as well and I’d love to see Fabian lysel recalled here to give the Bruins some offensive life with uh Matt potra being placed on LTI so the Bruin slumping but it’s not too much to be worried about I don’t think they’ve played well the last couple games just not getting uh the

Puck luck that that you’d like them to see all right friends that’s it for today I hope you all have a fantastic long weekend I’ll be heading down in Niger Falls once again for some uh Under 12 Ontario basketball and looking forward to hopefully a couple W’s there and then

Just uh yeah hanging out with family please take care of yourselves take care of each other we’ll talk to you again here next week on lock on Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your favorite team every single day

A 4-1 loss at the hands of the Seattle Kraken on Thursday dropped the Boston Bruins to 1-3-1 since the All-Star Break.

The main issues are lack of scoring (1.6 goals per game over that span) and a penalty kill that’s allowing 1 goal for every 3 opportunities.

The good news is they’re outshooting the opposition recently, and perhaps it’s a scheduled swoon planned by natural regression.

There are ways to boost the offense, though, beginning with recalling John Beecher and Fabian Lysell.

Plus, let’s preview Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.

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