Yahoo Sports New Bruins Coach Has Big Challenge Ahead
The Boston Bruins named Joe Sacco their interim head coach after firing Jim Montgomery. The change behind the bench was not surprising, as the Bruins' start to the season has been disastrous.
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However, while the Bruins parted ways with Montgomery, it is apparent that they still have massive issues regarding their roster. Thus, Sacco has an incredibly difficult challenge ahead of him in trying to get the Bruins to turn their season around.
The Bruins currently have an 8-9-3 record and have lost three straight games. Their minus-21 goal differential is tied with the San Jose Sharks for the second-worst in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins are at the bottom with a minus-26 goal differential.
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The Bruins have struggled in every area this season. Not a single Bruins player is producing at a point-per-game pace, while only David Pastrnak (17 points) and Brad Marchand (13 points) have at least 10 points this season. This is a very concerning stat, considering the Bruins are 20 games into the season.
Goaltending has also been a massive problem for the Bruins this season. While Joonas Korpisalo has been solid as the club's backup, Jeremy Swayman has a 5-7-2 record, a 3.47 goals-against average, and a .884 save percentage in 14 starts. He has also allowed 12 goals in his last two appearances and 20 in his previous five.
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The Bruins' discipline has been atrocious this season, as they have an NHL-leading 233 penalty minutes. It also does not help that their penalty kill has struggled, as it is at the No. 25 spot in the NHL. The Bruins' power play has also been even worse, as they have the worst power-play percentage in the NHL (11.7%).
With all of this, Sacco has a big challenge ahead of him in trying to get the Bruins back on track. Clearly, the Bruins' issues are far deeper than just who their previous coach was. It will be interesting to see if Sacco can help the Bruins turn things around from here. He is not entering an easy situation.
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