(Photo by Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports)
by Dakota Antelman
As much as the NHL knows how much fans and players alike seem to hate the convention of the shootout, the absolute way of determining a winner in EVERY hockey game has it going nowhere.
As a result, the Bruins, who were most recently hurt by the shootout in New Year’s Eve game with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are in desperate need of an internal overhaul to their approach to the shootout. With it likely being a part of hockey for many years to come, the Bruins need to find out how to win shootouts. This is simply because right now, that is not happening.
Their December 31st game that ultimately ended in the shootout loss began uneventfully. The Bruins fell behind 1-0 but kept pace when Tuukka Rask stopped a key penalty shot in the first period. The Bruins came back firing following the first intermission, tying the game and eventually trading goals with the Maple Leafs in the second period. They finished regulation tied with the Leafs at three goals a-piece.
After bouncing through overtime without a game winning goal, the game went to the shootout.
The TD Garden rang with boos of the shootout convention while its few supporters tried to explain its rules to still others who did not understand it.
As the Zamboni drove off the ice and the administrators of the dry scrape walked down the maintenance tunnel, the Bruins and Maple Leafs conferred with officials.
The home Bruins elected to have Toronto shoot first as they finalized their own shooters.
Needless to say even that was not enough to stave off the shifty shootout goals and five round win enjoyed by the Leafs.
But it was not their talent that doomed Boston, it was the Bruins’ own mismanagement of their shooters that prevented them from closing out 2014 on a winning note.
Accounting for the sudden death rounds of the shootout, the Bruins sent five shooters to center ice. They started with Reilly Smith, then they sent Tory Krug, Brad Marchand, Seth Griffith and finally David Krejci who missed on a must-make shot that ended the game.
The lineup was bizarre to say the least with a defensemen taking the second shot and a 50% career penalty shot shooter in Patrice Bergeron never taking the ice. Of a fundamentally talented Bruins attack, Claude Julian selected a group of five players with a career penalty shot conversion percentage of 19%. Furthermore, he did so against a Toronto shootout attack that came in with some of the best numbers in the league.
Boston was swiftly embarrassed by Maple Leaf shooters who entered with a shootout conversion percentage of 39% and nailed two of five shots on Rask.
So what is the problem? How can this be fixed?
Well, not too long ago mind you, the Bruins were, hands down, the best team in hockey in terms of winning shootouts.
Two seasons ago, in the season of their dominant run to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, the Bruins reaped the benefits of a near immaculate winning percentage in shootout games. That sterling reputation was the direct byproduct of their lights out shooting lineup.
Each time the shootout was needed, in almost painful repetition, the Bruins would send Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Davis Krejci to the puck.
Those players would constantly score on 40-50% of shots. They legitimately capped off hours of play with three minutes bearing three darting goals from the top of the opponents crease.
Things changed though after Seguin left Boston following the season. The Bruins started sending Marchand out in the top three and testing Loui Eriksson in the number two slot. They dropped Krejci out of the traditional shooting lineup and over time even let Bergeron fade.
And what for; so that they could let Seth Griffith shoot, so they could let a lucky Tory Krug pound a shot off Johnathan Bernier’s pad?
The Bruins need to rework their shootout approach. Bergeron needs to get back into the mix and we need to see somebody come through as a prime shooter for the team.
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