Problem has come to the fore

Team's checking scheme has gotten out of control

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff  |  January 7, 2009

If Bruins coach Claude Julien has had a recent complaint, it's with his team's forechecking, especially given how seamless it had been during most of the recent 10-game winning streak.

"A good forecheck creates turnovers," Julien said. "A good forecheck means you get on them quick, you get a chance to finish your checks, and you create turnovers. Right now, we are a fraction of a second late everywhere. Teams are breaking out of their own end too easily. I think that's where our forecheck has faltered a little bit."

The strong forecheck has given the Bruins an advantage in puck possession for most of the season. But with opponents shaking off the forecheck in back-to-back losses to Buffalo and Minnesota, the Bruins haven't been able to control the puck as effectively.

"I think it's been a little bit of a weakness for us. It's been a strength for us pretty much all year," said Blake Wheeler. "It's really important for us because we like to play with the puck in the offensive zone. So we have to put pucks in places where we can retrieve it. To be doing that, you have to have a good forecheck. We've slipped a little bit lately."

When the Bruins are firing correctly, they use their size, strength, and skill to cycle in the offensive zone and hem in opponents. While the forwards are cycling, the defensemen give them help by supporting the puck and pinching at the points whenever other clubs threaten to clear the zone.

But the Bruins have been slightly off their rhythm. The first forechecker has been slow to pressure the puck. He hasn't had support in place from his linemates to cut off outlet passes.

The defensemen, especially against Buffalo, haven't been keeping tight gaps, which gave the Sabres room to rev up their wheels in the neutral zone.

"These kinds of things always relate," said Julien. "They never relate to one thing, they relate to a lot of different things. It's about the effort. It's about reading off each other. It's about a lot of things.

"It's the timing and even the kinds of dumps you put in there. Do you give your forechecker a chance to get there? Is it a bad dump where the guy's there and he has a lot of time to make a play? It's a combination of things."

Last night against the Wild, the Bruins pledged to get back to a tighter forecheck. Well-placed dumps. Pressure arriving rapidly on the puck-retrieving defenseman to seal off the first outlet pass. Reading and reacting to cover outlet men if the defenseman eludes the first forechecker and fires off a pass.

"The first guy can be in there doing his job and get a good hit on the defenseman," Wheeler said. "But the D could rap it around. If you don't have a checking guy in the right spot, then they're going to just pick it up and carry it out of the zone.

"It takes guys being in the right spot, reading and reacting and moving your feet at all times. It's not just a one-guy thing to have a good forecheck."

As the forecheck's final wave, the Boston defensemen have to keep tight gaps to step into spaces when opponents clear the forwards.

"We have to stay up," said Mark Stuart. "If we can keep our gaps and disrupt the play a little bit, our forwards can pick it up, dump it back in, and start all over."

At 3:23 of the second period, a deflected shot struck Shane Hnidy near the left eye. He hurried off the ice holding his face, missing approximately eight minutes. Hnidy returned with a visor and finished the game (14 shifts, 14:41 of ice time). He was injured when Minnesota forward Cal Clutterbuck's shot skimmed off the stick of Michael Ryder and caromed into his face. Julien wasn't sure whether Hnidy required stitches.

Aaron Ward, knocked out during the second period of Saturday's game with a charley horse, participated in yesterday's morning skate, but did not play last night. Ward injured his thigh when he tried to throw a check on Matt Ellis . . . Petteri Nokelainen played in his first game since injuring his right shoulder Dec. 12 against Atlanta. Nokelainen (nine shifts, 7:14) replaced Vladimir Sobotka on the fourth line. "He was fine," Julien said. "He threw his weight around and wasn't afraid to get involved. That was a good sign for us." . . . Andrew Ference (fractured tibia) didn't skate yesterday morning . . . The Wild are hoping that star winger Marian Gaborik, who is out for 10 weeks following hip surgery, will be fit enough for a return by the end of the season . . . Patrice Bergeron is expected to speak to the media about his latest concussion Tuesday, when the Canadiens come to the Garden.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com