The Bruins are in a familiar place, at the top of the standings. Although this is surprising considering preseason projections and the loss of so many stars from last season's powerhouse including Patrice Bergeron who was considered the heart and soul of the team, the team is rolling and wants to keep it rolling.
In order to that, one trend they have made this year need to be broken. The Bruins take entirely too many penalties. Currently the Bruins sit third in the league in number of penalties taken with 233. The Bruins to often find themselves shorthanded. While they do currently have the 7th best penalty kill unit in the league, being on the PK this often kills all momentum in the game. Many times, it keeps your stars off the ice, as players like David Pastrnak do not play on the PK and he is your leading scorer.
It also puts pressure on the goalies, and while Swayman and Ullmark have been two of the best in the league this year, it's never a spot you want to put your goalies in. If you look in playoff history, special teams many times decide a game. Taking these many penalties against the elite teams that enter the playoffs could spell disaster for the powerhouse Bruins.
