After another night of ineptitude, the Bruins need to focus on getting their offense in order

Except for the first half of the second period, the Bruins appeared confused and unable to consistently mount an offensive attack. The visitors seemed to have hit every free puck in the neutral zone and at their own end.

Trailing leads to penalties, and for a team struggling to establish an offensive identity — the Bruins have scored just one goal without an empty net in the last seven periods — spending time in the penalty box is deadly.

Understaffed workers disrupt synergies and shorten your working hours. In the Bruins' case, that means not enough ice time for their most dangerous player, David Pastrnak.

“Well, I think Pasta only had 9:30 after two periods because we had to kill (five) minors,” coach Jim Montgomery said.

Pastrnak, who hit a game-high six shots, played heavy minutes in the third period (finishing the game 16:18), but by then the Bruins were down 2-0.

Nikita Zadorov, who took at least one minor penalty in all seven games this season, agreed that excessive penalties mess up the game plan.

“A lot,” he said. “I mean, if some guys sit for 10 minutes and don't get their shifts, they lose their legs. That takes the momentum away from the game and gives all the other teams the momentum.”

What has made the Bruins successful in recent seasons is their relentlessness and ability to pressure opposing puck carriers and take away time and space. Their sticks are always on the ice and they create turnovers across the entire 200 feet of ice.

The Bruins got away from it for long stretches against Utah and Nashville.

So how can this be prevented from becoming an ongoing problem?

“I think the most important thing is that we stick together,” Montgomery said. “No. 2 is that we have a process that has brought us a lot of success. We have to come back to that. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that we don't start on time or don't finish the 60 minutes.

“Look at the first seven minutes of the second, that was Bruins hockey. Why are we moving away from this? Part of it is we just have to continue to have patience and believe in the process.”

When it comes to the stagnant offense, Charlie Coyle believes the top priority is to push more decisively towards the goal area.

“I just have to find ways to get to the net more,” he said. “Usually it's a simple solution and if you watch a video we might not get as much insight as we need to. Sometimes you have to push through to achieve these goals. Second, third and fourth attempts, rebounds.

“That starts with getting to the net, simplifying things and putting yourself in a position to make shots, receive passes, get to the net and get rebounds. Usually you just have to simplify things. Sometimes you can think about it too much.”

Montgomery has had to introduce a lot of new faces into his system, so a seven-game sample size is too small to make him reach for the panic button.

“We’re still building, aren’t we?” said Coyle. “You don't stop building until the season is over, and we have a lot of new faces, and sometimes it takes a while to get used to the fact that you don't even think anymore, you just play hockey.” You play your best. You don't think about it too much. “Where should I be? What is our system?'

“So this just keeps getting better the more reps we do in practice, the more games we play. This should get worse as we move forward.”

For guys who might grip their sticks a little too tightly and fight the puck a little too much, Montgomery had a simple message.

“Just to keep working,” he said. “We cannot defeat ourselves. It's a long season. We have to keep grinding. We have to get better and better every day.”

…

The Bruins had Wednesday night off after arriving early in the morning following the week-long road trip. They will skate Thursday morning before facing the Stars at TD Garden that evening and the Maple Leafs Saturday night.

Jim McBride can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @globejimmcbride.