It’s taken 11 games, but I think we’ve finally find what may be Bruins interim head coach Bruce Cassidy’s weakness.
Squared up against the Ottawa Senators in what was probably the club’s most important game to date, the Bruins were in an 0-2 just over three minutes into the game and found themselves in desperation mode against Craig Anderson, a goaltender who entered action with 18 wins and a .930 save percentage in just 27 games this year. And that forced Cassidy to once again coach from behind.
That, for whatever reason, has not seemed to work out all that much for this team. But the Bruins finally countered Ottawa’s tallies with just 1:33 left in the first period behind a Patrice Bergeron wrister. The goal was the perfect escape from an otherwise rough-looking first period despite a 13-to-7 shot advantage that favored the Bruins. It should have served as the perfect shot of adrenaline for the club’s second period, too.
It turned out to be anything but that.
Instead of the Bruins carrying the momentum into a shot-heavy second period, the Bruins were pounded for a minus-11 shot differential in the middle frame, as the Sens fired 16 shots on net versus just five fired from B’s skaters. Not only were the Bruins pounded for shots against and had to rely on Tuukka Rask (who rebounded quite well from his disastrous two goals on two shots start to the night), but they couldn’t do a single thing in the attacking zone, carelessly turned the puck over time and time again, and were whistled for a penalty and Brad Marchand took a matching minor with the lesser-talented Pageau to end the frame.
A Matt Hoffman power-play goal scored 7:50 into the third period put the Bruins away for a few moments, or until Marchand and the Black and Gold scored a power-play goal of their goal to bring themselves back within one and with 10:56 left in the third.
But as close as the Bruins were to tying this game up before an Alex Burrows empty-net goal officially pushed this game out of reach, you never felt quite like the Bruins deserved this game. From the second the Sens took the lead — and that didn’t take long at all — the Bruins were forced to play from behind and they never seemed to settle into their groove.
And again, that’s in line with the theme that’s been developed in an 11-game sample under Cassidy.
Under Cassidy, and as predicted, the Bruins have been the aggressors. They have frequently used that aggression to score the game’s first goal. Tonight was just the third time in 11 games that the Bruins did not score the game’s first goal. The only two games in which that did happen for the club? A late-second win against the Canucks and their loss to the Rangers. The latter of those two results is far from a shock given what tends to happen when this team is trailing.
In all three of their losses under Cassidy, the Bruins have significantly shuffled their lines in the third period.
Monday night in Ottawa was no exception. With the Bruins in search of goals after a disastrous middle stanza, David Pastrnak was moved back to the first line with Bergeron and Marchand. Drew Stafford was put next to Peter Cehlarik and David Krejci, and David Backes was bumped down to the third line with Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano.
You understand Cassidy’s desire and decision to mix with something when it’s not working, but there’s a trend to be found. When the team is trailing, Cassidy seems to put his lines and usages in a blender. It seems a bit reactionary, and it’s often putting some players that are generally unfamiliar with one another — with the exception of No. 88 with Bergeron and Marchand, obviously — into situations where they’re attempting to learn their new linemates’ tendencies and in the game’s most important moments.
I can’t help but feel as if that’s not the best approach.
Then again, putting yourself into an 0-2 hole three minutes into a game is not a great approach, either.