Bruins' lack of offense, not refs, is main reason they trail Panthers 3-1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON -- The officiating was awful in Game 4 of the Bruins-Panthers second-round playoff series on Sunday night. The Panthers have had six power plays in each of the last three games. Boston's frustration over some of these calls is warranted.
But make no mistake: The referees are not the primary reason why the Bruins have been pushed to the brink of elimination after a 3-2 loss in Game 4 at TD Garden.
It's because they can't generate enough offense. Plain and simple.
The Panthers controlled play for much of Game 4. Sure, getting six power plays is a huge boost, and Florida did cash in on one of them -- albeit in controversial fashion. But the 5-on-5 stats show the Panthers tilted the ice in their favor by a fairly substantial margin.
Via Natural Stat Trick:
When the opponent has more than twice as many shots at 5-on-5 and is plus-12 in 5-on-5 scoring chances, you're in trouble. The Bruins generated just two shots in the third period. They did spend 6:57 on the penalty kill during the frame, but that's an abysmal amount of offense created in the most important period of the season so far.
The Bruins haven't registered above 18 shots in three straight games. The Panthers, as a result, are just the fourth team since 1995 to hold an opponent at 18 shots or below in three or more consecutive playoff games.
"We have to spend more time in the o-zone," Bruins forward David Pastrnak said. "Credit to them, they're doing a good job. But we need to be better and create space for each other."
It's not like the Bruins didn't have quality looks at the net. Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen all had a partial or full breakaway opportunity in the second period. A goal on any one of those chances pushes the Bruins' lead to 3-0 or 3-1 (the Panthers got on the board at 14:48 of the period), and maybe the final outcome is different as a result.
Boston's lack of offense is not just a Game 4 problem, though. It's been an issue for this team for a couple weeks. The B's have scored two or fewer goals in six of their last seven games, including three of four matchups in this series. That's nowhere near good enough against a high-powered Panthers offense that has scored three-plus goals in eight of its nine playoff games.
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