Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Montgomery Makes Change On Top Power Play Unit

Originally posted on Boston Hockey Now | By Jimmy Murphy | Last updated 4/14/24

The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4 on Saturday night, but their power play woes continued as they went 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

To make matters worse, the Bruins’ powerplay allowed a shorthanded goal when Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy made a soft attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Lars Eller beat him to the puck and poked it up to Dartmouth University product and Penguins winger Drew O’Connor. O’Connor was off to the races, and only Bruins captain Brad Marchand was able to catch up but failed to slow O’Connor down as he beat Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark to pull the Penguins to within a goal 4:32 into the third period.

DREW O'CONNOR

There's no quit in these @penguins!

: ABC & @ESPNPlus https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l pic.twitter.com/obcliiZsbh

— NHL (@NHL) April 14, 2024

That prompted Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery to unload his frustration on Charlie McAvoy and the top power play unit when they returned to the bench. The Bruins bench boss was asked about the tongue-lashing that appeared to be directed at McAvoy.

“It wasn’t just Charlie,” Montgomery said. “It was me giving it to everybody on the power play. There was just no cohesion. The passing was off, and I didn’t like the effort getting back after the turnover — by everybody.”

The shorthanded goal against also prompted Montgomery to take McAvoy off the point on the top power play unit and replace him with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk. Montgomery was asked about the move after the game.

“I don’t know, it’s just in-game. …it wasn’t looking good the first couple of powerplays, so I just switched it up; I thought we got a couple of different looks, and I thought the second unit actually had better looks,” Montgomery pointed out.

The Bruins didn’t score on the next power play, but this could be something worth watching in the final two games of the regular season as Montgomery tries to jumpstart the struggling power play. Could McAvoy be better suited to being a rover rather than working the point?

This article first appeared on Boston Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission.

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