Cam Neely Addresses Repeated Infraction Bruins Made In Postseason

The Bruins set a new NHL record during the 13 games they played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Unfortunately for Boston, it was for too many men on the ice penalties. The previous record was six, and the Bruins bested that in their second-round Game 6 loss to the Panthers.

“Seven is a lot, no question,” Bruins president Cam Neely told reporters at the end-of-season press conference at TD Garden on Wednesday, per team transcript. “You got to kill off 14 minutes of penalties that you shouldn’t be taking. One or two you can understand, but there’s clearly some miscommunication, whether it’s players not prepared to jump or jump too early. Guys come to the bench and then not getting on the bench.”

Neely continued: ” I think there was one in particular where (Brandon) Carlo came out of the penalty box, so I think a defenseman thought it was his change cause Brandon was a defenseman. But I think it was a forward that needed to go. So there’s different reasons why it happens, but seven is way too many to have happen. There’s no question about it.”

Along with committing the seven infractions, the Bruins also struggled with winning playoff games on home ice over the past two postseasons; Boston is 3-7 at TD Garden.

“I think across the league in playoffs, maybe the home team might be under .500,” Neely said. “So I don’t know if this, in particular, is a Bruins issue. It’s something that we certainly want to talk about this offseason because when you get into this building as a player, you know it’s going to be cranking.

“And our fans, bring it every night. That’s something when you’re at home as a player, you really want to perform well, and you probably put a little too much pressure on yourself as opposed to on the road, you just go out and play the game. From a player’s perspective, I think sometimes you maybe put a little too much pressure on yourself to perform your best at home.”