Abundance of penalties is No. 1 problem Bruins must fix right now

Abundance of penalties is No. 1 problem Bruins must fix right now originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins have a lot of issues to fix after their first eight games of the 2024-25 NHL season, but the No. 1 problem that must be addressed ASAP is the abundance of penalties this team is taking.

This Bruins roster doesn’t have the offensive firepower or the defensive talent to take four or more penalties every game and consistently rack up victories.

The Bruins’ losing streak reached three games Thursday night with a 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars at TD Garden, dropping their record to 3-4-1 through eight games. Boston took five penalties, and Dallas scored three power-play goals as a result. It was the difference in the game. But it wasn’t an isolated incident, either. The Bruins have given the opponent four or more power plays in seven of their eight games.

And these aren’t just unlucky penalties or bad calls. Sure, there have been a few strange penalty calls, but many of these infractions are due to a lack of discipline, a lack of focus, and a lack of attention to detail.

For example, B’s defenseman Parker Wotherspoon took a bad interference penalty in the second period against the Stars. He tried to pin Stars forward Matt Duchene along the boards even though the puck was well past them. It was an easy call for the referee, and the Stars went on the power play, where Logan Stankoven scored to give his team a 3-1 lead.

David Pastrnak took two penalties against the Stars and both resulted in power-play goals for Dallas. The second one — a tripping penalty in the attacking zone — resulted in a 4-1 Stars lead after Tyler Seguin scored against B’s goalie Jeremy Swayman.

A three-goal deficit is pretty much an insurmountable one for the Bruins right now given all the trouble they’re having scoring goals.

Pastrnak took 16 minor penalties in 82 games last season. He took 0.66 penalties per 60 minutes. He has already taken seven minor penalties in eight games this season. His 2.72 penalties taken per 60 minutes is absurdly high and leads all Bruins forwards who’ve played more than two games. Pastrnak is way too important to the Bruins to be sitting in the box so often. That’s not why he’s paid an average of $11.25 million per season.

“I honestly can’t remember taking this many penalties in my career as it is this season,” Pastrnak told reporters after Thursday’s game, via WEEI’s Bridgette Proulx. He later added: “Definitely bad on my part. Can’t put the team in a shorthanded situation twice in one game. I definitely took too many penalties today. I need to take better care of my stick.”

The Bruins lead the league with 110 penalty minutes. They have taken 48 penalties overall, which is at least seven more than all other 31 teams. Boston’s 44 minor penalties are nine more than any other team. Taking a lot of penalties isn’t an outlier outcome for the Bruins. They ranked No. 7 in penalties taken last season and No. 6 the year before. The B’s play a heavy, physical style of hockey, and that will inevitably result in penalties.

The difference between those recent seasons and the 2024-25 campaign is the surprising lack of discipline and the amount of bad, avoidable penalties being taken.

The good news for the Bruins is a lot of the issues leading to these penalties are correctable. For example, the stick infractions that are caused by being a step behind the puck carrier can be fixed by getting into a better defensive position.

“Our penalties have come when we’re not aggressive,” head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after Thursday’s morning skate. “When you’re playing aggressive and you’re on your toes, you’re causing turnovers, and if you’re taking penalties, they’re from aggression. You don’t mind penalties from aggression. You don’t like penalties when they’re because you’re a second late and it’s a stick infraction. Those are the ones that really bother me.”

Taking fewer penalties won’t cure all that ails the Bruins right now. They also need their top-six forwards to contribute more offensively. The power play needs to get going. Jeremy Swayman needs to play like a top-10 goalie again, etc.

But staying out of the penalty box would have a profoundly positive impact on this team’s ability to win games. If the Bruins play with more discipline, the results will follow.