CHICAGOWhile the Bruins' power play is still trying to find their elusive groove, the Bs penalty kill is earning high marks across the board this season.
The Bs managed to kill three Chicago power plays during their 3-2 shootout victory over the Blackhawks at the United Center on Saturday night, andeven better than thatmanaged to get on the board with a short-handed goal that helped awaken the hibernating Bruins.
After five games the Bruins have as many shorthanded goals as they do power play goals (one), which serves as both a good and a bad thing depending on how one might look at it.
The biggest kill took place in the waning moments of the third period with Benoit Pouliot whistled off for a high-sticking penaltyand the Bruins hanging on to a 2-2 tie with a push for overtime and a guaranteed point. Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly teamed up for the short-handed goal, Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell logged nearly the most minutes among the forwards on the PK, and the Patrice BergeronBrad Marchand did their share of penalty killing as well.
The Bruins have now killed 17 out of 19 power plays against them this season in five games and rank just outside the NHLs top 10 in penalty killbut have been able to summon special teams play when theyve really needed it already this season.
Our penalty kill was very good tonight. You just have to look at the Blackhawks roster to see how good their power play it is, and its hurt a lot of other teams, said Julien. The key was not letting them get set up as a unit. We really disrupted their entry a lot tonight, which was a very good thing that helped us hold them down.
Kelly was the star of the special teams show for the Bruins in the victory, however. It was the third line center that disrupted the Chicago flow at the point and orchestrated a 2-on-1 rush with Rich Peverley into the Blackhawks zone. Peverley carried the puck into the offensive zone with speed and served up a great dish to Kelly, who didnt miss his second chance at an open net this season.
Boston Bruins
Kelly famously missed the net during an odd man rush with Tyler Seguin during the first period of their season opener against the Flyers, but buried the puck in the back of the net past Corey Crawford this time around.
Its clearly not perfect for the Bruins with the power play missing in action again to start this season, but its not quite as bad as it could be provided the penalty kill continues to do yeomans work for the Bruins.