This is the second part of my breakdown of the Boston Bruins set face-offs. In part one, we looked at defensive zone face-off strategies.

This one is all about the neutral zone face-off.

We will see five different face-offs alignments that they use night after night, and I’ll tell you right now that the first one is my favourite one.

1. The Montreal

I like to call this face-off strategy “The Montreal.”

Watch the clip below and you will understand why. It was the first time I saw the face-off play, and wow, the execution was perfect. Montreal fell victim to it twice at the hands of the Bruins, and on both sides of the ice. Wow.

2. C Curl

We can see on the offensive blue line or the defensive blue line one set face-off used over and over. On the offensive blue line, you have both wingers using the width of the ice and the centre curling on the wall.

We will see the same thing on the defensive blue line. One thing I’ve noticed with the Bruins, is they are not trying to make a pass to the centre, Boston is looking to use the width of the ice instead.

3. D Carry

Do you remember in my last article when the defenceman was carrying the puck back from his defensive zone? It’s the same pattern here. You don’t expect a defenceman to carry the puck.

If your wingers are doing a good job at “picking” the opponent, you can create a lot of space and build speed through the neutral zone. You can even use the hinge later on.

4. D to D

A lot of teams are using the wall-side pressure when they lose the draw. Why not go away from the pressure by making a D to D pass? On the defensive blue line, you can skate with the puck and make a stretch pass to one of the wingers. On the OBL, a quick D to D for a hard rim.

You can establish your forecheck right from the draw.

5. Best of the Rest

Not a lot of explanation for this one. Here are a variety of face-off plays that the Bruins have used in the neutral-zone. I only wanted to give you more ideas for the upcoming season.