Why blown leads is the No. 1 issue Bruins must fix before playoffs

Why blowing leads is the top priority for the Bruins to address before the playoffs first aired on NBC Sports Boston

The squad from Boston, the Bruins, is excellent. If that weren’t the case, they wouldn’t be tied for first place in the Eastern Conference standings thus late in the season.

So are the Bruins among the top three or perhaps the top four teams vying for the Stanley Cup?

As of right now, the inability to protect late leads is the main reason the answer is no.

For the Bruins, this isn’t a novel issue, despite its recent prominence. In four of its previous six games—including Monday night’s away defeat to the Seattle Kraken—Boston has wasted a third-period lead. They were ahead 4-1.

Following Monday’s defeat, Bruins captain Brad Marchand told reporters, “You want to look at it both ways.” “You ought to be pleased that our road trip was enjoyable. There are a few advantages. In a couple of the games we lost, we were ahead. The fact that we lost both games and should have done a better job of finishing them off is undoubtedly a drawback.

We could have had a much better road trip, so that’s where the expectations are, so it’s a little frustrating. You expect to win the game going into the third quarter, and we need to. You need to be able to win those games as you approach the final stretch and the playoffs.

Last season, the Bruins were 47-1-2 while leading after two periods. With 37-2-5, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the next closest team. The opponent was essentially out of the game once the B’s took the lead. However, during the playoffs, everything began to fall apart, especially in their first-round matchup against the Florida Panthers in Games 6 and 7. Most famously, with less than a minute left in regulation time in Game 7, the Bruins let the Panthers level the score after holding a 3-2 lead in the third period. To upset Boston and put an end to its historic campaign, Florida prevailed in overtime.

Fast forward to 2023-24 and the problem hasn’t gone away. Even when the Bruins were racking up wins at a strong pace early in the season, blown leads were an issue. The B’s are 25-1-8 when leading after two periods this season. Their .735 win percentage in those games ranks 28th out of 32 teams and is by far the worst of any club currently in a playoff spot.

What is causing the Bruins to blow so many late leads?

The main problem is definitely special teams. With a 73.3 percent success rate in the 11 games following the All-Star break, Boston’s penalty kill is ranked 26th in the league. The Bruins are taking too many penalties (they rank 11th in terms of penalty kill time over this time period), and they are not playing well in either zone clearing or front-of-the-net defense. After the All-Star break, the power play has been even worse. With a dismal 11.3 percent conversion rate, this unit is ranked 31st over that time. They’ve only been worse than the New Jersey Devils.

The Bruins’ issue of protecting the front of the net extends beyond penalty kills; it occurs in all circumstances. After the All-Star break, they have given up the fourth-highest number of high-danger shot attempts across all scenarios.Thanks to their goaltending, the B’s have allowed the fourth-fewest high-danger goals, which shows you how screwed this team would be without Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. It also shows you why trading one of them in-season isn’t the best idea.

During the previous road trip, the Bruins’ front of the net defense was not up to par.Additionally, the Bruins haven’t been scoring many goals in the third period lately, either on the power play or even at even strength. Among all teams, they have the second-fewest goals in the third period—six—over the past 11 games. On the other hand, they are tied for second most goals allowed in the third period during that time, with 16. Last season, Boston had the best third-period goal differential in the NHL at plus-54 goals. Right now, their third-period goal differential is plus-7.

Though adding another middle-six wing before the trade deadline would be a smart addition, the offense should be OK. However, the defensive line, particularly in and in the low slot, might not be OK. This is why the Bruins have to acquire a defenseman before the trade deadline who can kill penalties, block shots, and just add more physicality to the group.

It’s not necessary to upgrade to anything as expensive as Noah Hanifin. It would be beneficial to have a third-pairing veteran like Matt Dumba, Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, or Nick Seeler.

The Bruins have managed to stay in the standings despite blowing leads. They’ve played these games with good resiliency to force overtime. The Bruins have only managed one point from five of their previous nine games, despite losing seven of them.

However, the Bruins must learn to quit blowing late leads and start attacking in the third period if they hope to be a serious contender for the Stanley Cup and win several rounds of the playoffs. The Bruins won’t win if they play like this going forward.

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