Boston Bruins

Three Bruins Who Stand To Benefit Most From Coaching Change

Published

2 weeks ago

November 23, 2024

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

After firing Jim Montgomery as their head coach earlier this week and turning the team over to Joe Sacco in the interim, the Boston Bruins are hoping the change comes as a wake-up call to its players.

The Bruins have vastly underperformed this season, with virtually every player failing to meet expectations, leaving the team struggling to gain any sort of traction.

Montgomery did about as much as he could in an attempt to break the Bruins out of their early season rut.

He tried his usual approach of positivity and encouragement. He tried using a firm hand, publicly disciplining some of the team’s top stars. Neither worked nor did any amount of line juggling.

Now, it’s Sacco’s turn to see if he can find a solution. If he does, there are three Bruins players who stand to benefit most.

Justin Brazeau:

Perhaps the biggest issue the Bruins have dealt with early on is a lack of scoring, as they own the second-worst offense across the entire league, scoring just 2.33 goals per game, and have already suffered three shutout losses.

It’d be easy to assume that Sacco will lean heavily on players such as David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand to get the offense going. Those two will certainly need to be among the biggest point generators for the Bruins, but the key to unlocking their offense is Justin Brazeau.

One of the main points of emphasis that Sacco has made early on is scoring from down low around the crease, where Brazeau has made a living all year.

Justin Brazeau – Boston Bruins (4) pic.twitter.com/HeXUQgUUB1

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 3, 2024

“With the team that we have–we have some big forwards up front that like to play on the inside–we want our D to be more focused and to be more shot-ready from the top, get pucks to the net, and use the two inside as layered traffic to make it harder on the goaltender,” Sacco said. “We’re definitely trying to be more focused on putting pucks to the net. With two on the inside, we’re going to create more chances off of rebounds.”

That style of offense is perfect for a player like Brazeau, who stands at six-foot-five and 220 pounds. It’s how the Bruins should’ve been playing all along.

“When you’re struggling and the confidence isn’t that high, you got to do that stuff,” Brazeau said following Boston’s win in Philadelphia on Nov. 2. “You’re not going to make the nice play all the time. You just got to be able to put pucks into dirty areas and go and battle.”

Mason Lohrei:

If scoring dirty goals going to be Boston’s main strategy for generating offense, getting pucks down-low starts with getting shots there in the first place from the blue line.

“I believe that we have D who want to shoot,” said Sacco. “It’s just a matter of getting them shot-ready and being prepared to know that they’re going to have two on the inside and that they’re going to be able to take away the goaltender’s eyes.”

In theory, that means every defenseman the Bruins have stands to benefit from Sacco’s coaching, but especially Mason Lohrei.

By far the most offensively gifted player that the Bruins have on their back end, Lohrei is never without confidence while he has the puck on his stick. Even at such a young age, he’s shown a veteran’s ability to create shots, both for himself and his teammates.

With Sacco now emphasizing a shot-first mentality, it’s open season for Lohrei, who is already tied for the most points among Bruins defensemen.

Elias Lindholm:

While Sacco was the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-13, one of his best and most consistent players was center Paul Stastny.

In four years under Sacco, Stastny averaged just over 53 points per season and posted a career-high 79 in 2009 with 20 goals and 59 assists. The versatile, 200-foot pivot even earned consideration for the Lady Byng Trophy.

Now, who does that profile remind you of?

The Bruins brought Elias Lindholm in to be their anchor down the middle of the ice, but all he’s done is weigh them down.

Under Montgomery, Lindholm largely looked directionless, failing to make an impact of any sort. However, if Sacco can figure out a way to utilize Lindholm in Boston the same way he did Stastny in Colorado, it will put wind into the sails of the Bruins.

That’s already been the case, as Lindholm’s goal on Thursday night against Utah was his first in 18 games and just the second the Bruins had scored on the power play in their last seven outings.

Elias Lindholm gets the monkey off his back after a month without a goal 🐵 pic.twitter.com/5IadZqFSTU

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 22, 2024

It also should be noted that this isn’t the first time Lindholm has experienced a mid-season coaching change. He endured two during his run with the Calgary Flames from 2018-23 without ever experiencing a drop in his production.