Where Bruins Must Improve To Defeat Golden Knights Heading Into Break

The Bruins have one more challenge before the 4 Nations break, and interim head coach Joe Sacco’s message was simple: shoot the puck.

“We’re deferring too much at times,” Sacco told reporters after practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday, per team-provided video. “I go back to the last game (against the Rangers); we had time in the offensive zone. I give the Rangers some credit. They did a good job defensively. But on the flipside, we didn’t do a good enough job playing off the shot.

“I thought we over-passed sometimes when we could have gotten pucks to the net with two on the inside. For our group, it’s a constant reminder about how we have to play offensively. A little more shot volume. We did that earlier on. I think (we) get away from it sometimes and that’s when we don’t generate enough offense.”

Sacco continued: “And our power play. Our power play had been going OK for a little while, but last game, it didn’t do as well. And that’s an opportunity for us, especially our top guys. When they’re moving the puck well on the power play, they’re building confidence, on 5-on-5, too. But, like I said, it’s a little bit more of a shot mindset, playing off the shot, looking for rebounds, two-for-one opportunities. That’s how we’re going to generate more offense for this group.”

The Bruins were held to just 17 shots on goal against the Rangers, but on the flip side, Boston’s stingy defense limited the Blue Shirts to 22. A recipe the Black and Gold hope to deploy against Vegas.

“When we’re at our best, we’re stingy,” Sacco said. “We’re good defensively. We’re tight. That’s what I see right now.

“We took going into the last four games as treating it like playoff hockey. So far, we’re 2-1 out of that four right now. We have one more game to finish it off. It’s a massive opportunity for us. I really feel like if we can play a good, sound hockey game (Saturday) against one of the better teams in the league the last couple of years, it sets us up. It puts us in a good spot going into the break.”

A win against the Knight will keep the Bruins within striking distance of a playoff spot.

“We all know the standings are tight,” Sacco said. “You look at the teams, from the wild card teams to even to the third-place team in our division, there’s a log jam there right now. I look at it as a good opportunity for us to go into the break, put ourselves in a better position, and then, when we get back, understanding what’s in front of us in the last 25 games.”

A loss would put the Bruins closer to the possible “retool” both Cam Neely and Don Sweeney have acknowledged heading into the March 7 trade deadline.