Kalman: Bruins Need Shootout Improvement Or Need To Avoid Them Completely
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- Bruins coach Claude Julien is crystal clear about his team's objective when a game goes beyond regulation.
"Well, we don't want to get into shootouts. Let's put it that way," Julien said after practice Friday at Ristuccia Arena.
"You've seen us, and we really feel that three forwards and one defenseman has always been a good asset for us in overtime," he said. "I think for the most part we've always been pretty dominant in those overtime periods. Every team has its strength and every team has something as a weakness. I guess we're not the best in the league when it comes to shootouts. At the end of the day, they are valuable points. But then when it comes to tie-breakers, those wins don't count in the win column. We've just got to try to control what we can. We've tried different players, as you can see. We're always coming up a little bit more short."
The Bruins are 2-3 in shootouts this season, with three losses in a row. Last season, they were 3-6. But that didn't matter much. They still won the Presidents' Trophy without those six extra points. Currently they're in a whole different situation. The Bruins are on the outside of the Eastern Conference's top eight and as ridiculous as it may be, the results of the post-hockey game skills competition could decide their fate. Last season, the New Jersey Devils were 0-13 in shootouts and missed the playoffs by five points. Ouch.
Most recently, the Bruins' shootout slump continued on Wednesday, when they fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite going for the overtime goal with their three-forward alignment, the Bruins couldn't cash in on their chances and then the Maple Leafs improved to 3-1 this season in shootouts.
Julien has tried to mix up his lineup in the shootout. Against Toronto defenseman Torey Krug got his second crack and scored the Bruins' lone goal. Forward Reilly Smith joked that he's going "relegate" himself to 14th because of his failures. He's 1-for-5 and hasn't scored since the Bruins' first shootout Oct. 31.
"You try to go back to key moves that you have that usually work. You sometimes, when you go back to those and they're not working, it's tough because that's all you've got in the bag," Smith said. "But you've just got to, it's such a small part of the game, and it actually controls a lot of points, so it's tough in that aspect especially since I think we're a really good overtime team. We had a lot of chances last game to finish it off. So it's tough to not get that extra point after I think we had a good [chance] especially in overtime."
The Bruins are 5-1 in the 4-on-4 overtime with Julien typically using three forwards. Julien's not shy about his desire to not leave that extra point up to the shootout. His players seem to get that message loud and clear. The urgency clearly rises when the Bruins go with the unorthodox lineup, and even in games the Bruins didn't win in overtime, they've typically had the better chances to end the game.
"If you can end a game earlier, it's definitely what you shoot for," said center Patrice Bergeron, who's 0-for-3 this season and wasn't one of Boston's four shooters against the Maple Leafs. "That's what we're trying to do in overtime. But that being said, if it comes to that point you've got to make sure you bear down and you find a way to get that point."
The Bruins aren't giving up on their ability to win shootouts. They practice it a little bit, mostly after the formal practice is over. They review video to pick up tendencies of the goaltenders. Bergeron said he's constantly thinking of new moves and that the fact that the arena crews no longer resurface the ice right before the shootout has altered strategies. Goaltending coach Bob Essensa, who's around the Bruins part-time, typically works with both the goaltenders and the shooters to come up with game plans go over scouting reports on the opposition.
As with any slump, though, the Bruins don't want to overthink things.
"I think sometimes you don't want to put too much in your head," Bergeron said. "You want to let the instincts kind of take over."
The Bruins can avoid putting too much in their heads, but they can't afford to not put all the points they can gain on their record. With multiple teams between the Bruins and where they want to go – not to mention the games in hand the competition has on the Bruins – shootouts could determine whether the Bruins are in the playoffs or home for late April. Unless, that is, they manage to avoid competing in them.
"It is what it is and I think we've got some real important things to work on before we get to the shootout that should help us not get in that situation," Julien said.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
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