Bruins Chalkboard: Bruins Keep Things Simple On Perfect Power Play

The Boston Bruins were dominant in a Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. One of the biggest keys to victory Game 3 for the Bruins was power play execution. The Bruins did all the little things right and played a smart road game which allowed them to execute perfectly on the power play. The Bruins power play went 4-for-4 and scored four goals on four shots.

“We simplified our game. We took what was there,” Patrice Bergeron told the media. “All the goals were scored differently. I think we’re trying to take what’s there. We’ll definitely take it, but then we have to move on to Game 4.”

For the Bruins, it all starts in their defensive end. The breakout was great as four players supported the puck and the Bruins used their speed and cycle game to attack the Blues defense to draw penalties at crucial moments in the hockey game. When the Bruins start with the puck in the offensive zone, their power play is deadly with face-off wins and shots from the point.

On the first power-play goal, Bergeron wins the face-off, Jake DeBrusk will come in for support and win the puck battle as he gets it to Torey Krug, who had himself a historic night. Krug will move along the blue line to open up the lane for a pass as Bergeron sneaks behind the defense to redirect the slap pass in past Jordan Binnington for 1-0 for the Bruins.

The Bruins executed the details of the power play perfectly on the second power-play goal. Brad Marchand supported by DeBrusk wins another puck battle as he gets the puck to Bergeron at the point, who slides the puck over to Krug. Again this opens up the lane for a pass to David Pastrnak, who is left alone in front of Binnington for a backhand goal.

The Bruins cleaned up so much in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Here you see Marchand, supported by Krug and Bergeron, bring two Blues penalty killers with him to the blue line. Marchand was smart with the puck as he did not force it to Bergeron. Instead, he makes a backhand pass to Krug, who walks right to the top of the circle and scores.

To close the game, the Bruins second power-play unit went there and executed just the as the first unit did. David Backes wins a puck battle and gets it to Connor Clifton on the point. Marcus Johansson comes up the wall to give Clifton two options either to go to Johansson, which he chose or Krug on the opposite point. Johansson gets the puck from Clifton and he passes the puck to Krug on the far side point which opens up a shooting lane for Johansson and Krug sends it back to him for the goal.

Note: The Bruins are the first team to score 4 Power Play goals in a road game in the Stanley Cup Final Final since the Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the 1947 series at Montreal. Bergeron also picked up his 100th career point in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Bruins are now 7-0 in the playoffs when scoring two or more power-play goals.

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Stanley Cup Final Takeaways: Boston’s Power Play Finds Perfection