The struggles of the Boston Bruins on the powerplay have been analyzed ad nauseum over the past month. Some thought the answer was Tyler Seguin, others were waiting for the blossoming of Tomas Kaberle.
Well, the latest effort to capitalize on the man advantage involves putting 6'9'' Zdeno Chara in front of the net.
Claude Julien and the Boston Bruins went to this strategy in Game 6 to no avail. Despite the lack of success in Game 6, Claude Julien plans to stick with Chara in front of the net going into Game 7.
Julien had this to say about the powerplay after Friday morning's skate per ESPN,
"Well, you can't let it mentally get to you," Julien said after Friday's morning skate. "I think you've got to have some resilience; you have to have some determination. That's what we're pushing our guys to be. ... I don't think it's one of those situations where you got panicked and you've got to stay positive and you've got to find solutions. That's what we're doing."
The amazing thing about Boston's lack of success on the powerplay, is how far the team has gotten in spite of it all. The Bruins have converted less than 7% of their chances on the man advantage and yet still find themselves within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Sticking Chara in front of the net is an interesting strategy, but the more effective tactical play would be to remove Mark Recchi from the team's powerplay unit. The 43 year old winger hasn't collected a single powerplay point thus far in the postseason and simply looks beat out there on the ice.
Getting a guy like Tyler Seguin on the ice for the powerplay makes more sense. His speed and vision are both tops on the team, and there is little to lose by getting him more involved in the game.
Most of all the Bruins need a lucky bounce to get things going for the PP. It's a mental hurdle that needs to be overcome at this point.
Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Marcil Vanessa Minnillo Vanessa Simmons Veronica Kay
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