Bruins need to restore shot-first mentality against Lightning in Game 3

TAMPA -- The Boston Bruins wanted more because the opportunity was there for them. But all things considered, they're content with a split on the road in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"We have home-ice advantage now," forward Brad Marchand said following Boston's 4-2 loss in Game 2 at Amalie Arena on Monday.

To make the advantage matter, the Bruins know the big part of their game they need to fix in order to defeat the Lightning in a best-of-7 series that is tied 1-1 going into Game 3 at TD Garden on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS).
RELATED: *[Lightning excel on special teams, defeat Bruins| Complete Lightning vs. Bruins series coverage*]
"We need to get back to funneling pucks [to the net]," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We'll have that conversation."
The Bruins, typically one of the NHL's best when it comes to shot attempts and possession time in the offensive zone, have been dominated by the Lightning in those areas.
Boston won 6-2 in Game 1 on Saturday despite getting outshot 36-24 and finishing with a minus-41 differential in total shot attempts (78-37), including minus-36 at even strength (71-35). They found the open man in the slot and capitalized on their rare chances.
They had a similar issue in Game 2, when they were outshot 31-20 and were minus-16 in shot attempts differential (54-38), including minus-15 at even strength (42-27).

The Bruins have been outshot 57-36 at even strength in the series, including 25-13 in Game 2.
"I think we have to hit the net a little more," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. "We missed the net on a few opportunities and maybe [we need to] throw some more pucks at the net. We'll look at it. We'll be better."
Cassidy said it's rediscovering the shot-first mentality the Bruins usually have.
They averaged 35 shots on goal per game in seven games in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and 33.0 shots per game in the regular season. They took 52.23 percent of the even strength shot attempts against the Maple Leafs, a slight dip from their 53.71 percent in the regular season.
They're averaging 22 shots per game and 33.02 percent of the even strength shot attempts against the Lightning.
"We want possession, we want to play with the puck more," Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. "We want to play our brand of hockey, and that's possessing it, getting it down low, cycling on teams, dumping it in, getting shot attempts to the net."

Cassidy credited the Lightning for clogging the lanes and limiting the Bruins' chances for shot attempts that get to the net, but he blamed his team for not moving around enough to create them.
"We're not separating and funneling and having the mindset we're going to get it to the net," Cassidy said. "When we went low to high [in Game 2], our 'D' weren't able to find the open lane. We were rushing shots from up top."

He said he thinks the Bruins can do a better job of creating opportunities for off rebounds if they start pushing more pucks to the net.
"We can create some anxiety," he said. "That's how you end up getting those second and third and fourth chances. That's how your shot attempts and shots on net all go up. We feel that because of our skill level, we can start making plays off those loose-puck retrievals. That's where we need to generate more. … That's where we're missing a little bit, those loose-puck retrievals in the O-zone, something we did very well during the year, and then breaking them down from there."