The Puck-Drop: 4 Things To Watch As The Bruins Face The Red Wings
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins seriously need a bounce-back performance as they return home from New York, where they dropped their second game in a row to the New York Rangers. The past two games have been particularly ugly, as the Bruins' defensive mistakes have been exposed with inexperienced goaltenders in net.
As of Saturday morning, it's unclear whether Tuukka Rask will be in goal for the Bruins as they take on the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena. But even with Rask in net, the Red Wings have two of the hottest goalies in the league in Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard - and that could prove to be the difference in the game.
The Bruins face a familiar foe in Thomas Vanek, who signed with Detroit in the offseason, while longtime Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk left the NHL after last season. The Red Wings are similarly top-heavy in terms of offensive production and have also struggled to limit scoring chances for the opposition, which could favor the Bruins. Detroit sits at 6-2 on the season, but their stats indicate a playing style that is unsustainable over the course of the season.
That being said, here are four things to watch as the Bruins hit the ice in Detroit to take on their division rival. ...
Respond to adversity. One of the Bruins' fatal flaws last season was an inability to rebound from tough situations, as the team often folded when faced with must-win situations or similar adversity. They have seemed to lack vocal leadership in recent seasons, and David Backes was supposed to fill that void.
The Bruins will be without Backes for the second straight game, and his presence certainly could have helped in New York. The Bruins opened to a 2-0 lead, but once they let the first goal in during the second period against the Rangers, it felt like the dam had broken. If they let one up against Detroit, they absolutely need to respond better than they have recently.
Thomas Vanek, Bruins Slayer. The 33-year-old is off to a hot start with his new team, with four goals and eight points in seven games. Vanek has long been one of the NHL's streakier snipers, but against the Bruins, he's consistently been an assassin.
Vanek has scored 31 goals and 64 points in just 59 career games against the Bruins - just a ridiculously good pace for a player against a specific team. And now, the Bruins don't have as good of a defense as Vanek has had to overcome in the past. He has a hot hand - his four goals have come on just 13 shots - and the Bruins will need to pay extra attention to him when he's on the ice.
Winning the possession game. Detroit may be 6-2 to start the season, but it's not because they've been dominating puck possession battles. In fact, they are 29th in the NHL with a shot attempts percentage of just 44.53. They are dead-last with a dreadful minus-68 shot attempt differential. They only take 40.47 percent of their faceoffs in the offensive zone, which is also 29th in the NHL.
What does this mean? The Bruins, who are fifth in the NHL in shot attempt percentage at 53.24 percent, have a good chance to out-shoot the Red Wings and keep them pinned down in their own zone by winning the small battles for the puck. The Red Wings have had similar issues transitioning from defense to offense, so for the Bruins to pull off the road win, they will have to take advantage of that.
But, there's a good explanation for why the Red Wings' record is so good despite getting dominated in puck possession ...
Potential goaltending mismatch. I don't hate advanced analytics or puck possession stats. They are a handy tool for analyzing how teams are playing and winning games - certainly if it fits your argument! But it's clear that the Red Wings, while a negative puck possession team, have been able to survive on the strength of outstanding goaltending from Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard.
The Red Wings' goaltending tandem is second in the league so far with an excellent five-on-five save percentage of .953. The Bruins may need to similarly rely on Tuukka Rask (if healthy) to perform at a high level over the course of the season, but the Red Wings have certainly needed to lean on Mrazek and Howard so far in 2016-17.
The way the Red Wings have played so far this season feels unsustainable. Not only are they allowing an alarming number of shot attempts and opportunities to their opponents, their top-five goal scorers (Vanek, Darren Helm, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green, and Frans Nielsen) have a combined shooting percentage of 25 percent (16-for-64) which definitely won't last. If they beat the Bruins on Saturday, it's likely that their goalie will have stolen another one.
Join the conversation!
What are you looking for during Bruins-Red Wings on Saturday? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Follow the Puck-Drop for in-depth pre-game primers on the Bruins and their opponents. Once you read, you'll know what to watch for.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.