With the offense hitting rock bottom again, the Bruins were left looking for answers

Bruins

“Whether it’s the desire to get into those areas or not the right game plan, we all share the blame for not getting a win tonight.”

Jim Montgomery might have said it best while answering questions Tuesday night.

After another night in which Boston's already faltering offense faltered against a porous Philadelphia defense, the Bruins' bench boss was at a loss.

“I don’t know,” Montgomery said when asked if the Bruins’ skaters think too much in the offensive zone. “It’s just that we don’t make plays. We don't do enough to create dangerous scoring chances.

“Whether that’s the desire to go to those areas or not the right game plan. We are all to blame for not getting a win tonight.”

In a season in which Boston's inability to put the puck in the net has dashed any hope of another strong start, Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Flyers represented a new low.

Despite Montgomery's repeated pleas for more pressure and urgency on the puck, the Bruins again spent large portions of Tuesday's game sleepwalking in the offensive zone.

After trailing 1-0 at the start of the final period, the Bruins managed just three shots on goal in the third period and lost to a Flyers team that entered with a 2-6-1 record. Boston currently ranks 26th in the NHL in offense and has allowed just 2.70 goals per game.

“It’s a variety of things,” Montgomery said of Boston’s problems in the offensive zone. “It seems like some guys are still struggling in terms of their confidence and their ability to just be smooth with the puck on the ice.”

Once a fundamental strength of the Boston offense, the Bruins' power play has declined significantly in the 2024-25 season.

Not only do the Bruins struggle to capitalize on their chances (14.3 percent, 26th in the NHL), they also fail to even put pucks on net while using an extra skater.

The Bruins were allowed four power-play appearances during Tuesday's loss, including a 5-on-3 sequence in the opening period that lasted 1:37. Boston finished with just two total shots on goal on the power play, including zero during the usual 5-on-4 replays with the man advantage.

Whether it's the players holding onto their sticks or the lack of a shoot-first mentality, the Bruins have done little to make opponents' PKs worthwhile in recent weeks.

“That's normal when you have problems on offense, you kind of keep the bat in your hand,” Hampus Lindholm said. “Usually when you're on a hot streak you just pick up the puck and snatch it straight away. You don't really think. This game becomes much easier if you just play with your intuition.”

At this point, it remains to be seen what exactly Montgomery and his staff can do to bolster Boston's weak forward corps.

A change to the top power play unit could send a message, especially since Charlie McAvoy hasn't provided much urgency as the team's playmaker along the blue line.

Switching to a left-shot D like Lindholm or even a rookie like Mason Lohrei could give this unit a little more speed, especially when it comes to passing clean pucks to David Pastrnak for good scoring opportunities.

“Faster puck movement,” Montgomery said of the cure for Boston’s ailing power play. “If you move the puck fast enough and think about the shot first, they’re not going to be in the shooting lane. They have one player less, especially five against three, that’s two players less.”

But the Bruins are limited at this point in terms of what they can do with the existing personnel. Montgomery has tried just about every lineup combination imaginable in Boston's first 10 games at 5-on-5.

It will be up to the players themselves to generate more offense on the ice – or create a more profound change driven by management.

“Nobody is going to give you that for free in this league,” Lindholm said. “You have to work for it and start it the right way by winning your battle and from there put the puck in the net instead of trying to inbound it because that doesn’t happen in this league.”

“You have to work for it and create that mindset for everyone here and do it as a team.”

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Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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