Another power failure
Team losing on man advantage
WILMINGTON - At 1:39 of Tuesday's second period, when the Bruins held a 2-1 lead over the Sharks, San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle joined teammate Devin Setoguchi in the penalty box, giving Boston a 49-second two-man advantage.
Neither Boyle nor Setoguchi needed to worry.
The Bruins failed to beat goalie Evgeni Nabokov during the five-on-three power play, not surprising given how much they have struggled lately when up one man - or even two.
"We need to move the puck a little better," said coach Claude Julien. "We need to be going in with a little bit more speed and be willing to outwork the [penalty-killing unit]. That's been a bit of a downfall for us lately. We're dusting the puck, not moving it quick with authority. We have to find that groove again."
The Bruins went 0 for 5 on the power play against the Sharks, the sixth time in the last seven games they went scoreless on the power play.
During the seven-game stretch, the Bruins are 2 for 30 (6.7 percent). Prior to Boston's 4-3 overtime loss to New Jersey Jan. 29, the team boasted a 25.4 percent efficiency rate on the power play, the third-best mark in the NHL. They are currently fifth with a 22.8 percent success rate.
San Jose, which has the league's third-best penalty kill (85.8 percent), bottled up the Bruins in the neutral zone to prevent them from gaining clean entries into the offensive zone. When the Bruins dumped the puck past the first wave of penalty killers, the defensemen won battles along the walls against the slow-to-arrive forwards. And in the few instances when the Bruins set up their power play, the Sharks were effective at pressuring the points and forcing them to hurry their passes.
The result: just eight shots over five power plays, with Nabokov rarely tested.
"They did a good job on the neutral-zone forecheck," said Dennis Wideman, one of the point men on the second unit. "They put a lot more pressure on than we've ever dealt with. We lost too many battles."
One reason the Bruins aren't having success on the power play is because injuries have shuffled Julien's units. Patrice Bergeron, who plays the point alongside Zdeno Chara on the first unit, is still trying to find his touch. Michael Ryder, the No. 1 slot shooter, could be out until next month. Chuck Kobasew, who has replaced Ryder in the last two games, was slowed Tuesday, first with a leg injury, then an upper-body ailment.
"When you don't have a lot of key elements, it has a certain effect," Julien said. "You'd like to think that you have enough depth and certain guys can step in, but it is the reality of things."
Bergeron hasn't scored since Nov. 21. On Tuesday, Bergeron played mostly in a defensive role against San Jose's top line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Setoguchi.
"Missing a whole year hurt him like we thought it would," Julien said. "It's a matter of giving him time. I think the thing that I've seen is that his game is picking up all the time. Even [Tuesday] night, he had some good scoring chances and made a couple of good plays that resulted in some scoring chances."
Kessel, who came back Jan. 29, hasn't scored since Jan. 3. Kessel still leads the team with 24 goals.
"The fact that's he's getting some chances is a good sign," Julien said. "At the same time, you've got to try and bury those, dig deep, and find a way to score goals. That's what good goal scorers do."
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. 
