Boston Bruins: 6 Keys to a Successful 6-Game Road Trip

Still with five games in hand over the second-place Ottawa Senators, the Boston Bruins will commence a six-game road trip Wednesday night in Montreal with a four-point edge for tops in the Northeast Division.

As it happens, the trip will conclude in the Canadian capital a week from Saturday, at which point the Senators will have only played three more games on the year. And the meeting at Scotiabank Place will constitute the first half of a home-and-home series, concluding on Feb. 28 at TD Garden.

At the very least, the Bruins want to ensure that Ottawa will not have a chance to use that home-and-home as a means of closing the current four-point gap. They will want to expand their lead by at least one point over their next five games, which means taking at least seven of their next 10 possible points in case the Sens manage to win each of their next three bouts.

Besides tangible gains in the standings and the race for the best possible playoff seed, though, the long-underachieving Bruins need to checkmark each of the following six keys to secure a fulfilling business trip.

More Than 1 Set of Back-to-Back Wins

This team has not pulled off what, by their standards, ought to be one of the most menial accomplishments since Jan. 10-12. Five weeks and 14 games have passed since then, and by the next time the Bruins conduct business from home, their home stretch and postseason roster will be virtually in stone.

They will need some genuine momentum to ride on throughout March and into April, but that cannot be attained until they have reaped two points apiece out of at least two consecutive opponents.

Multiple Power Plays Each Night

The Bruins did not garner a single man-advantage in Tuesday night’s home bout with the Rangers until there were a negligible 110 seconds to spare in what was already cemented as a 3-0 New York victory.

In their previous loss, a 6-0 whitewash at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres, they failed to draw a single opposing penalty for the full 60-minute tilt. One loss prior to that, it took them 28 minutes and 26 seconds of play to finally send a Pittsburgh Penguin to the sin bin.

Overall, since the All-Star break, Boston has won each time it has gone on three or more power plays and lost each time it has drawn itself two or fewer. And, three of the team’s last 12 goals have occurred when they have had a numerical advantage.

The Bruins are unthinkably overdue for a steady stream of efforts that has their top-dog offense flustering the opposition to the point where they all but have at least one extra-man segment for every period of play.

Penurious Possession

So far this February, Boston has given the puck away an average of five times per night. Towering defensive captain Zdeno Chara alone has committed 10 of those 30 turnovers, including four in Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers, three in last Wednesday’s 6-0 nosedive in Buffalo and three in a 3-0 falter to Carolina Feb. 2.

As a team, the Bruins committed anywhere from four to nine giveaways in their three shutout losses. Conversely, when they have won or turned in a less lamentable losing effort (Feb. 4 versus Pittsburgh), they have limited the turnovers to two or three.

No More Than 3 Opposing Goals Each Night

Actually, for at least four or five of their next six engagements, the Bruins should vow to confine the adversary to no more than two strikes. It’s a bit much to ask that of them for each of their next six games, but after being outscored, 12-3, over the last three, they have to start cutting down to some extent without fail.

A Whole Host Of Splashed Scoring Droughts

Tyler Seguin has but one point, a goal in Washington Feb. 5, over his last seven games and is a cumulative minus-four over his last three scoreless outings.

David Krejci is pointless through the first six games of this calendar month, has not scored a goal in any of his last eight ventures and matches Seguin’s minus-four dip within the last three.

Chris Kelly chipped in an assist in the aforementioned visit to the Capitals, but is otherwise barren for the last 10 games. Benoit Pouliot is completely arid over his last eight appearances and has but two assists to speak of since his last goal on Jan. 10.

Daniel Paille’s goal and Shawn Thornton’s concomitant assist against Nashville this past Saturday have been Boston’s only specimens of production from the fourth line in the last eight games. Their center, Gregory Campbell, has been the hole in the already not-so-calorie-dense doughnut.

For all seven of these forwards, as well as unripe stand-in Jordan Caron, no fewer than two or three points apiece should be the goal between now and next Saturday’s excursion to Ottawa. If that happens, less reprehensible likes of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley will see a natural increase in their own output, not to mention the club as a whole.

At Least 8 Points in the Standings

The Bruins have fostered a .500 record (8-8-1) dating back to their Jan. 7 Stanley Cup Finals rematch with Vancouver. That means spending roughly one-fifth of their regular-season schedule reaping results that, if accomplished over a full 82-game slate, would hardly guarantee admission into the playoffs.

But overall, through 54 games, Boston enters Wednesday night’s action with the league’s fifth-best winning percentage at .648, slightly below the ideal .667 success rate.

If they can get back to taking at least two-thirds of the allotted points over this six-city swing and maintain that habit through April 7, the Bruins will rediscover that missing “identity” head coach Claude Julien spoke of Tuesday night.