Abundance of penalties is No. 1 drawback Bruins should repair proper now

Abundance of penalties is No. 1 problem Bruins must fix right now initially appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have a whole lot of points to repair after their first eight video games of the 2024-25 NHL season, however the No. 1 drawback that have to be addressed ASAP is the abundance of penalties this group is taking.

This Bruins roster doesn’t have the offensive firepower or the defensive expertise to take 4 or extra penalties each sport and constantly rack up victories.

The Bruins’ dropping streak reached three video games Thursday night time with a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars at TD Backyard, dropping their file to 3-4-1 via eight video games. Boston took 5 penalties, and Dallas scored three power-play targets because of this. It was the distinction within the sport. But it surely wasn’t an remoted incident, both. The Bruins have given the opponent 4 or extra energy performs in seven of their eight video games.

And these aren’t simply unfortunate penalties or dangerous calls. Positive, there have been just a few unusual penalty calls, however many of those infractions are attributable to a scarcity of self-discipline, a scarcity of focus, and a scarcity of consideration to element.

For instance, B’s defenseman Parker Wotherspoon took a foul interference penalty within the second interval in opposition to the Stars. He tried to pin Stars ahead Matt Duchene alongside the boards although the puck was properly previous them. It was a simple name for the referee, and the Stars went on the ability play, the place Logan Stankoven scored to present his group a 3-1 lead.

David Pastrnak took two penalties in opposition to the Stars and each resulted in power-play targets for Dallas. The second — a tripping penalty within the attacking zone — resulted in a 4-1 Stars lead after Tyler Seguin scored in opposition to B’s goalie Jeremy Swayman.

A 3-goal deficit is just about an insurmountable one for the Bruins proper now given all the difficulty they’re having scoring targets.

Pastrnak took 16 minor penalties in 82 video games final season. He took 0.66 penalties per 60 minutes. He has already taken seven minor penalties in eight video games this season. His 2.72 penalties taken per 60 minutes is absurdly excessive and leads all Bruins forwards who’ve performed greater than two video games. Pastrnak is approach too essential to the Bruins to be sitting within the field so typically. That is not why he is paid a median of $11.25 million per season.

“I truthfully cannot bear in mind taking this many penalties in my profession as it’s this season,” Pastrnak instructed reporters after Thursday’s sport, via WEEI’s Bridgette Proulx. He later added: “Positively dangerous on my half. Can’t put the group in a shorthanded scenario twice in a single sport. I positively took too many penalties at this time. I must take higher care of my stick.”

The Bruins lead the league with 110 penalty minutes. They’ve taken 48 penalties general, which is at the least seven greater than all different 31 groups. Boston’s 44 minor penalties are 9 greater than some other group. Taking a whole lot of penalties is not an outlier end result for the Bruins. They ranked No. 7 in penalties taken final season and No. 6 the 12 months earlier than. The B’s play a heavy, bodily model of hockey, and that can inevitably lead to penalties.

The distinction between these latest seasons and the 2024-25 marketing campaign is the shocking lack of self-discipline and the quantity of dangerous, avoidable penalties being taken.

The excellent news for the Bruins is a whole lot of the problems main to those penalties are correctable. For instance, the stick infractions which can be brought on by being a step behind the puck provider could be mounted by entering into a greater defensive place.

“Our penalties have come after we’re not aggressive,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after Thursday’s morning skate. “While you’re enjoying aggressive and also you’re in your toes, you’re inflicting turnovers, and in the event you’re taking penalties, they’re from aggression. You don’t thoughts penalties from aggression. You don’t like penalties after they’re since you’re a second late and it’s a stick infraction. These are those that actually hassle me.”

Taking much less penalties will not treatment all that ails the Bruins proper now. In addition they want their top-six forwards to contribute extra offensively. The ability play must get going. Jeremy Swayman must play like a top-10 goalie once more, and so on.

However staying out of the penalty field would have a profoundly optimistic influence on this group’s potential to win video games. If the Bruins play with extra self-discipline, the outcomes will observe.