What the Bruins had to say about power play dominance in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final
"I still think we haven't played our best."
The Bruins had four power play opportunities in Saturday night’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. On each occasion, Boston scored. The remarkable efficiency led the way in a 7-2 win as the Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the series.
In St. Louis’ first Stanley Cup Final home game since 1970, it was the visitors who seemed more comfortable.
Four power plays. Four shots. Four goals.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/g3d1YBLWQ3
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 2, 2019
“I think we were moving it quick,” said Brad Marchand of the Bruins’ passing. “[We] got a couple of bounces, won some battles. I think that was probably the difference.”
“We seen it before,” Marchand said of the team’s power play efficiency. “We got lucky.”
The extent to which Marchand downplayed the team’s power play capability is summed up in just how many times the Bruins have gotten “lucky” on the road in the 2019 postseason.
In 28 chances so far in road playoff games, Boston has scored exactly 50 percent of the time (14 goals).
“We knew that our [power play] was too good to not score goals for many games, so we just tried to simplify and put the pucks on net,” said David Pastrnak, who scored Boston’s fourth goal of the game (on the Bruins’ second power play).
.@pastrnak96 following the #NHLBruins Game 3 victory: “We are comfortable playing on the road, all season. We did a real good job.” pic.twitter.com/vlgU5MDYFC
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 2, 2019
“I still think we haven’t played our best,” Pastrnak said. “But we are up 2-1 and we need to meet tomorrow, look at the video, and get even better.”
The 23 power play goals by the Bruins in the playoffs are the most since 2010. And the four power play goals on the road was a first since 1947:
#NHLBruins are the first team to score 4 Power Play goals in a road game in the #StanleyCup Final since the Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the 1947 series at Montreal.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 2, 2019
“We simplified our game. We took what was there,” center Patrice Bergeron told NBC Sports. “All the goals were scored differently. I think we’re trying to take what’s there. We’ll definitely take it, but then we have to move on to Game 4.”
Even though the pressure seemed to be mounting after the Game 2 loss in Boston, it still appears that the Bruins remain loose, at least according to Pastrnak.
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