Something has to give when the Boston Bruins cross paths with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time this season on Saturday.
The two Original Six rivals enter their matchup in Boston having lost consecutive games in regulation, keeping them separated by just one point in the Atlantic Division.
Boston actually is winless in three in a row (0-2-1) dating back to an overtime loss last Saturday in Utah. The Bruins have a losing overall record (3-4-1) for the first time under third-year coach Jim Montgomery.
“If you’re not focused on habits and details, you’re going to get frustrated,” Montgomery said Thursday following a 5-2 loss to Dallas. “The margins of error aren’t very big in this league. We’re on the wrong side right now, and I think our attitudes are driving it.”
David Pastrnak opened the scoring and Justin Brazeau later netted his first goal of the season on Thursday, but allowing three consecutive power-play goals in the second period was too much to overcome.
The Bruins’ 45 minor penalties were four more than any other team as of Friday. That trend and an inconsistent offense including still goal-less captain Brad Marchand are contributing factors to a rare start for Boston, which was 17-2-0 to begin the 2022-23 season and 9-0-1 to start 2023-24.
“This is a bit of new territory for us, to have this happening early in the year after these last couple years where we started gangbusters,” defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “A little bit of our attitude is (that being the best team in October) hasn’t won us anything. We’re not going to panic.”
Montgomery believes his team’s “attitudes need to go in a better, healthier direction” as it relates to the process rather than results, with a more spirited Friday practice aimed at being the start of a change.
“Playing Toronto easily gets the juices flowing. It might be a good diversion,” he said. “But the main focus has to be on our own progress and getting better.”
Toronto has been blitzed by a combined 11-3 score over its last two games.
A 41-27 shot advantage over St. Louis on Thursday could not help Toronto make a winner out of goaltender Joseph Woll, who was making his season debut after missing the first seven games with groin tightness.
It was the Leafs’ second consecutive scoreless game on the power play (0-for-4). The talent-rich unit has clicked at 11.1 percent (3-for-27) this season, scoring in only two of the team’s first eight games.
“We just got to start attacking the net, not trying to look for the perfect play,” forward William Nylander said.
Assessing his new team against his former one, coach Craig Berube agreed. There were not only offensive struggles, but miscues that he directly tied to several St. Louis goals.
“Our whole team’s getting a little cute,” he said. “We’ve just got to play direct.”
Looking ahead to Saturday, though, breaking a seven-game, regular-season losing streak to the Bruins and getting back at the team that ousted them from the playoffs in a seven-game series last spring should make for plenty of motivation for the Maple Leafs.
“We’re going through some adversity right now,” Berube said. “We all gotta be better, myself included.”
