LOADING

Type to search

  • What we learned: Bruins’ home woes are starting to return

    Post Game

    What we learned: Bruins’ home woes are starting to return

    Anthony Travalgia November 6, 2016
    Share

    The Bruins entered Saturday night looking for a season-high fourth straight victory. After three straight wins away from TD Garden, the Bruins were looking to start their brief two-game home stand off with a victory over the New York Rangers.

    As was the case two weeks ago when the two met in New York, the Bruins scored first but couldn’t hold off the Rangers in their second 5-2 loss of the season against the Broadway Blueshirts. Here is what we learned.

    TD Garden once again becoming a house of horror

    Last season the Bruins were 17-18-6 on home ice, 26th in all of the National Hockey League. Fast forward to the 2016-17 season and it appears the Bruins are heading down a familiar road. After their loss to the Rangers, the Bruins fall to 1-3 on home ice. Since their victory over the Devils in the home opener, the Bruins have lost three in a row on Causeway Street where they have been outscored 14-4.

    The Bruins home record last season was a key reason as to why they failed to make the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons. If the Bruins can’t figure out how to make TD Garden a difficult place for opponents to play, it could be another playoff-less season.

    Power play really lets team down

    Thanks to two shorthanded goals courtesy of the Rangers, the Bruins have allowed just as many shorthanded tallies this season as they have power play goals: three. The Bruins have power play goals in just three of 11 games and have failed to score more than one power play tally in any game this season.

    Not only are the Bruins not converting when awarded a man advantage, they’re not doing much to create chances for themselves.

    “It wasn’t good tonight. Definitely, our power play hasn’t been up to par, we know that,” head coach Claude Julien told the media following Saturday’s contest. “We’ve got to fix that.”

    David Backes returns

    After missing five games with an elbow injury, David Backes was back on the Bruins’ second line, lined up next to Ryan Spooner and David Krejci. Backes logged 17:05 of ice time, was a minus-2 and failed to register a shot on goal. Despite the lackluster effort from Backes and his linemates, the offensively struggling Bruins are happy to have the veteran back in the lineup.

    Outside of the Bergeron unit, the Bruins have gotten very minimal production from their other three lines. The more game action Backes gets with Spooner and Krejci can only benefit the trio and the Bruins. With that being said, the three need to figure things out sooner, rather than later. The Bruins can’t afford to continue without more scoring depth.

    Jimmy Hayes out, Matt Beleskey back in

    As poor as the Bruins’ second line has been, the third line has been even worse. The trio of Matt Beleskey, Riley Nash and Jimmy Hayes had combined for a grand total of zero points heading into Thursday’s victory in Tampa Bay. In a move that many saw as a wake up call, Beleskey was the healthy scratch Thursday night.

    In Saturday’s contest, two days removed from his 10th round shootout winning tally and in a contest against brother Kevin, Jimmy Hayes was the one watching from the press box as Beleskey was inserted back into the lineup. The healthy scratch seemed to help a bit for Beleskey. Despite failing to find the scoresheet, Saturday was one of Beleskey’s better games this season. The former Anaheim Duck finished with four shots on goal.

    Facebook Comments
    Tags:

    You Might also Like

    Leave a Comment