Bruins Shootout Woes Continue

The Boston Bruins have taken another loss in the shootout. The NHL’s skill competition to decide games has not been kind to the Bruins over the years but this year especially. The Bruins shooters are 1-10 in the shootout this year and have lost three times so far in a shootout. Their latest loss dropped them into a four game skid. Although they lost in the shootout, the game never should have got to that point, the Bruins were ahead by four goals in the third and let Florida back into the game. It was the first time the Bruins had ever blown a four goal lead in the third period.

After surviving the overtime the Bruins lost in the dreaded shootout. The Bruins record in the shootout since 2016 sits at 5-9. That’s the worst record in the league over that span and their shooters have 13 goals on 65 shots. The Bruins struggles are well documented and even Coach Cassidy has noticed seeing as how he opted to have Wagner, Marchand and McAvoy shoot last night. The questionable call to have Wagner shoot shows Cassidy lacks confidence in his shooters and is searching anywhere for answers. The shootout is really only a skill competition and right now the Bruins need to figure it out, Cassidy is trying every option he has and I can’t blame him seeing how nobody has had success he might as well have Halak shoot next time.

The Bruins best bet for winning shootouts is to avoid them completely. Last night they blew a four goal lead and were left earning only one point instead of two. An avoidable situation. Hopefully the Bruins can avoid the shootout as much as possible but the next time they are presented the opportunity they have to role out different guys. The same 5 shooters for the past three seasons clearly hasn’t worked so tossing new guys like Bjork, Senyshyn and even Vaakanainen. It might not be perfect but it is better than trotting out the same guys with no success.

The Bruins are still on top of the Atlantic division but the Maple Leafs and Canadiens are right on their tail. With a busy weekend ahead they need to snap this losing streak and start playing the way they can. Back to back games against top teams in the Eastern Conference will be a real test for the Bruins while they are struggling to stay atop the standings.

Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith4386)