Why Bruins' struggling power play is concerning before playoffs

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An effective power play can be a huge advantage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially in a close series decided by a bunch of one-goal games.

The Boston Bruins are familiar with those kinds of series. Seven of their 11 playoff games last season were decided by a single goal, and several of them swung with power-play tallies, especially in the second round against the New York Islanders. The Islanders scored three times with the man advantage in the pivotal Game 5 at TD Garden to take a 3-2 series lead before eliminating the B's in six games.

The Bruins' power play is currently in a huge slump, and it's a real concern with the 2022 playoffs just a few weeks away.

Boston just wrapped up a four-game road trip during which the power play went scoreless on all 16 of the unit's opportunities. Sunday's loss to the Washington Capitals was particularly troubling as Boston went 0-for-4 with just three shots on net in eight minutes of power-play time. The drought continued Tuesday night in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues that saw Boston go 0-for-2 on the power play.

Sure, not having David Pastrnak because of injury for most of that trip (and Tuesday night) is among the reasons for the power play's outage. Pastrnak leads the Bruins in total goals with 38 and power-play goals with 14. No other player on the roster has more than eight power-play tallies. Pastrnak's one-timer from the left faceoff circle is a pretty tough shot for a goalie to stop while sliding from post-to-post.

But the B's power play has been struggling for longer than Pastrnak's latest injury absence.

Since March 1, the Bruins rank 25th in power-play goals with nine. They also rank 16th in shot attempts (163), 21st in shots on net (83), 24th in scoring chances (76) and 24th in expected goals scored (10.81), per Natural Stat Trick.

Why are the Bruins' power play woes a problem? Well, the B's are going to be facing some high-scoring opponents in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and they'll need all the offensive firepower possible to match these teams' explosive offenses.

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For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most likely first-round opponents for the Bruins. The Leafs have the league's best power play at 28.7 percent. Toronto also ranks second in goals scored per game, led by Auston Mathews and his league-leading 58 tallies.

The Florida Panthers are another potential opponent -- likely in the second round. The Panthers own the league's No. 6 power play at 24.6 percent. Florida also is the highest-scoring team in hockey with 4.14 goals scored per game. No other team is above the four-goal mark. 

The Carolina Hurricanes are the Bruins' most likely opponent right now. The 'Canes rank 10th in goals scored and have the No. 10 power play. 

The Bruins have the ability to be quite effective with the man advantage. Despite their power play's recent issues, the unit still ranks No. 11 for the entire season with a 22.3 percent success rate. A five-man unit of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and either Taylor Hall or Hampus Lindholm is loaded with high-end talent. 

Luckily for the Bruins, there are ways to fix the power play. Better zone entries, being more aggressive in looking to shoot, establishing a stronger net-front presence and, of course, getting Pastrnak back in the lineup would all help.

A dangerous power play is not required for playoff success, and the Bruins do know what that's like. They had a dreadful power play for most of the 2011 playoffs (third-worst among the 16 qualifying teams) and still emerged as Stanley Cup champions.

But a bad power play definitely makes the road to the Cup Final a lot tougher, and with the East playoffs already promising to be more grueling than usual, the Bruins need every edge they can get to survive against elite offensive opponents such as the Leafs, Panthers, Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning.

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