NHL Playoffs: Boston Bruins Should Play Normal Positions During Power Play

The final shot of Wednesday night’s Stanley Cup Final opener could not have sent a clearer message to the Boston Bruins. All of those close shaves on the power play did not cut it.

In turn, as they look to delete the viruses in their system before Game 2 on Saturday, they should know their best bets to upgrade their man-advantage shots from “close” to “converted” starts by planting a more flexible body like towering Zdeno Chara's in front of the Canucks' net.

On Wednesday, the Bruins attempted 17 power play shots and pelted goalie Roberto Luongo with 12 of them. Chara etched one of those SOG on a deflection in front, but he also made three wide attempts, two from that same spot on the porch.

If there were somebody whose posture requires a less dramatic lean on the twig to lasso a loose puck, odds are more than 33 percent of those deflections would have been on net. That would improve the odds of a direct hit to the back of the mesh or for a ripe rebound, which a shorter skater has a better chance of retrieving before Luongo can stamp it.

When Chara is within whispering distance of the opposing goalie, the best-case scenario tends to be that the net-minder is utterly blinded, especially if a teammate shadows Chara. And with any luck, one of the other four Boston attackers will cash in on the distraction and sneak home a conversion on the first stab.

Granted, David Krejci did connect in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Tampa Bay, as Chara was playing deeper than him. But the rest of the Bruins’ 5-on-4 goals have been cultivated by more conventional means.

And you know Chara needs to be repositioned when, so far in these playoffs, his power play productivity has been dwarfed by that of his much-maligned fellow blue-liner, Tomas Kaberle. For all the angst he has caused since coming over in mid-February, Kaberle garnered credit for the second assist on all three of his team’s 5-on-4 conversions in the Tampa Bay series. That ties him for the lead in playoff power play points with Nathan Horton and Krejci.

Of Boston’s five man-up goals this postseason, Chara has been on the ice for only two. The only one he had a hand in was a 5-on-3 conversion with 1:22 to spare in a 5-1 Game 3 romp over Philadelphia.

He finished that play off with a 43-foot slap shot from the far circle-top while Patrice Bergeron obscured goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky’s view. Earlier in the game, he had one-timed the icebreaker home from around the same patch on even strength. And Chara has not struck in any other 2011 playoff game, before or since.

The Bruins’ four power play goals thereafter have transpired as follows:

Milan Lucic beat Bobrovsky to kick-start Game 4 of the second round by waiting up front for a centering pass by Horton.

Trailing Tampa Bay, 1-0 in Game 2, Horton and Mark Recchi both entered the dirty-nose zone while Seidenberg and Kaberle moved the puck between the points. Horton would soon guide Seidenberg’s bullet home.

Later on in Game 2, after another back-and-forth between Seidenberg and Kaberle, Ryder collected the remnants of Tyler Seguin’s blast from the circle-top and shoveled it in on a backhand.

In Game 6 against Tampa Bay, Chara was screening Dwayne Roloson, but it was Kaberle and Horton who set up Krejci to smuggle the puck behind the goalie’s back.

Cases in point. There are plenty of Boston forwards to wreak havoc on the opposing goalie’s estate in all situations.

When Vancouver goes to the bin, Chara should stay back with Johnny Boychuk, Kaberle, or Seidenberg. And one, if not two, certified forwards should crash Luongo’s porch and wait for the defensemen’s export.