Grindin’ Gears: Where The Power Play Does Unspeakable Things To Us

I have had enough of watching this fucking Bruins power play. You know, if this was something new to the season, I'd be able to handle something as vile as the Bruins going on a 5-on-4 and not being able to enter the zone, but we're looking at a deficient power play for the past three season. Three-fucking-season of a power play that has looked lost, sloppy and uncoordinated. Look at this mess since the Bruins broke out in the 2008-2009 season: 

And it's gotten increasingly worse, this year currently 29th in the NHL with an 8.8% success which includes an empty net power play goal. Yes, an empty net PPG which means that the power play is statistically worse than 8.8%. It's not like the offense sucks either, outside of 2009-2010 where the Bruins couldn't score a goal if they tired (yet somehow made the playoffs). 

Why is it perfectly acceptable, in the mind of the Bruins' coaches, to allow this power play to continually fail with no one being held accountable? I hate to get this thing started, but the problem lays with Geoff Ward. Ward has been the on the Bruins coaching staff since August 2007 and has the primary responsibilities when it comes to organizing and running the power play. Based on the table above, what shows that he deserves to handle this? While the offense has risen based on their talent, the power play has ebbed and flowed. 

You can pin point the time when the Bruins power play completely fell a part and it was when Matt Cooke elbowed Savard's brains to pudding. Since he signed with the team in 2006, Savard has accounted for 292 power play points in the regular season (80 goals and 212 assists). He was a cog in the Bruins power play and one of the main reasons why Jeremy Jacobs (finally) opened his wallet and signed him. Since Savard has been in and out of hockey (and now finally out of hockey for good) the Bruins power play has been a steaming dump. I'd rather let Magic Johnson bleed in my mouth then have to watch what I saw Wednesday night in Montreal. 

The first two power plays went without a shot – a fucking shot on goal – and they had trouble entering the zone. It all starts with the Bruins power play philosophy and I'm not talking about Mike Milbury saying they shouldn't have a forward at the point. TONS of good power play teams leave a forward at the point. I'd probably invest more in what Milbury had to say, but he doesn't know the difference between a Restricted Free Agent and an Unrestricted Free Agent – plus that whole thing with the Islanders where he traded Chara for Yashin and drafted DiPietro #1. It would be like learning calculus from a homeless drug addict. 

Like I said, the problem is philosophy. The dump and chase method doesn't work on a power play. When the objective of the other team is to collapse and clear the puck out of their zone, dumping something deep in their zone and having someone go chase after it doesn't really make a lot of sense, does it? Am I way off base here? Am I seeing things wrong? 

It's not like the team doesn't have the talent to pull off a decent power play. 

But the philosophy is so fucking bizzare. 

Take another look at last night. Guess who played on the power play? Ryan Spooner. In his first NHL game, Ryan Spooner played 1:33 of power play ice time in the first period until Claude came to his sense and didn't put him back out there for a second. I mean, come on Claude, you're really going to put a guy like Spooner out there during his first game in a power play that can't gel with regular NHLers? 

And don't give me that "Well we won a Stanley Cup without a power play" bullshit because the reason the Bruins won the Stanley Cup was due to defense and Tim Thomas. It had nothing to do with a power play was that effeicent as a eunuch on Viagra. What would have happened if Tim Thomas wasn't Superman in 2011 and you needed a power play goal to win a series? You sure as fuck won't be wearing that Stanley Cup Champions hat you've been wearing since June 15th. 

Until Geoff Ward is gone – or at least relieved of his duites – the power play will not change and we're destined to watch this abortion be put on the ice.