The Boston Bruins left Thursday night with a 6-1 win over the Utah Mammoth, but the box score still showed a familiar problem: too many trips to the penalty box.
Boston was called for seven minor penalties in the game, and that pushed its season total to 22 penalties through five games. That’s an early return to a problem that has followed the Bruins before, after they finished last season with 373 penalties.
The Bruins have done enough on the penalty kill to avoid a bigger mess so far. Through five games, they’ve given up only three power-play goals while going 18-for-21 when shorthanded.
The only blemishes came against the Minnesota Wild, who scored twice after a 5-on-3, and the Winnipeg Jets. Boston also surrendered a short-handed goal against the Ottawa Senators, something it did not do in the first 25 games last season.
Still, the penalties are costing the Bruins more than just time on the kill. They keep wiping out momentum, especially when Boston has put together a strong shift or just scored and then gets whistled right back into its own end. That was part of the story against Utah, where five of the seven penalties came in the second period alone.
Will Borgen was at the center of that stretch. He took three of Boston’s seven minors, all in the second period, and ended up sitting for six of the 20 minutes in the frame.
The Bruins’ style has always leaned physical, and that isn’t changing. The issue is how often that edge spills over into unnecessary penalties. They’re playing with plenty of aggression, but they need more control to keep it from becoming a problem.
The power play finally broke through against Utah, with Boston scoring three times with the man advantage. Even so, the Bruins are just 3-for-16 on the season on the power play, so there’s work to do there as well.
Marco Sturm also pointed to the penalty kill unraveling against the Minnesota Wild, when Boston gave up two goals after surviving a 5-on-3. The broader picture is clear: the Bruins have been strong at five-on-five, but they still need cleaner special teams play if they want to keep building on that start.
There’s time to straighten it out. The Bruins can keep the physical edge that defines them, but they have to stop handing opponents free chances. If they stay out of the box, they give themselves a much better chance to control games.
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