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One can go all the way back to last summer and see how much Marco Sturm was concerned about the penalty kill.
Early in the season, it looked like new Bruins’ coach worries about the kill would pay dividends. But after a good start to the season on the PK, the B’s have tumbled down to 28th in the NHL, killing just a 76.4% success rate.
Trying to fix the kill was some of the coaching staff’s most important “homework” for the extended Olympic break, said Sturm upon the players’ return to the Warrior Ice Arena for practices last week.
The most obvious thing they have to do is cut down on penalties. Their plummet toward the bottom of the PK rankings has – surprise, surprise – coincided with them shooting up in the “minor penalties taken” category. They have taken 243, second only to the Florida Panthers’ 255.
But it also sounds like they plan to tweak their diamond structure as well. What exactly they will be doing differently is hard to tell in practice, especially with the fluid nature of the sport. But Sturm said it’s all part of the season-long chess match between the league’s power plays and penalty kills.
“Power plays get better. They do. If you look at us at the start, we were all out and we did exactly what we wanted to do. The things is, after a certain time and certain games – (assistant coach Steve Spott) Spotter calls it a ‘copy league’ – what it means is you can … see certain weaknesses on the PK,” said Sturm. “With the diamond, they got us pretty much and we just couldn’t handle it and didn’t have an answer. And also we were taking way too many, too. That was a little bit of the downfall. Again, we try to have something in place right now that hopefully fits our group and players better.”
The diamond, he said, giveth and taketh away.
“What I really like on the diamond is you take away the one-timers,” said Sturm. “The old way (the four-man box), the flanks were always available. You think about (Alex) Ovechkin and all those guys, you kind of take that away. You can be very aggressive. But you will give up probably the low 2-on-1s. That would be the downside of it. And now guys slowly figure out how to beat it, any system. That’s what can happen, and it’s already happening, so that’s why we want to be ahead of the curve a little bit.”
Going into the season, the first order of business was to identify some players who could kill, especially after the team traded away PK stalwarts Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle and Brandon Carlo at last season’s trade deadline.
The regulars on the back end are Nikita Zadorov, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Andrew Peeke. Up front, there are stalwarts Sean Kuraly, Mark Kastelic, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm. But rookie Fraser Minten and Tanner Jeannot, who had not killed in several years, are also heavily in the rotation. Sturm feels he’s got the personnel to do the job, though he said he could mix up the pairings.
Kuraly leads all forwards in PK time a game at 3:05 a game and he’s done it throughout his career. Pinpointing any one area as the problem, he said, is futile.
“We were on a roll earlier in the season. Does that mean power plays figure out what we’re doing and we didn’t adjust well enough? I don’t know. It’s a culmination of a lot of things,” said Kuraly. “As players, you definitely take it on to yourself to think of what we can do better. It’s just all the little things. Can we win more faceoffs and get more clears? On clears, can we do cooperate clears and share on our clears? Can we be a little bit better up ice, be a little stiffer and put ourselves in a better spot? Can we be better with our stick detail? Can we communicate better?
“I think it’s a culmination of all those things. They look at all these numbers and all these stats and if it was one thing, I think it would be pretty easy to clean up or at least address. I think it’s just a culmination of all those things to make a penalty kill good. And I think can we get on and off the ice and change quick is part of it. A lot of things make a penalty kill good. Of those six or seven things, if we can improve them five or 10 percent, we could have a really good penalty kill.”
Like the media on the Garden’s ninth floor, players on the kill can often see on video after the fact they had more time on a play. Communication, said Kuraly, is huge.
“Just by saying a few words, and I always talk with my linemates,” said Kuraly. “David Backes was the one that insisted I do that a long time ago, you make them look better if you just throw any sort of communication at them. ‘Time’ or ‘take a look.’ ‘Heads up.’ It’s pretty primitive what you can say to them. Just give them a clue, even if you think it might not help. There’s a lot of times where, even if you tell a guy he’s got some time, you settle down a little more and make just a little bit better play.”
Charlie McAvoy will be taking a crack at his dream on Sunday morning when he and his USA teammates take on Canada for the Olympic gold medal. Sturm, though, is a little nervous about how he’ll be able to transition back NHL hockey, which restarts for the B’s on Thursday with a big game against Columbus.
“Knowing Charlie, I know this is something he’s been looking forward to, probably his whole life. I know he will be great,” said Sturm. “I know it’s going to be a challenge (upon his return). From my experience coming back, the mental part of it is just, because you’re so emotionally involved in those Olympics, it drains you … it’s going to be a challenge, especially Charlie because he plays a lot. It’s a mental drain and that’s why we just have to manage every day the right way so we can have the best outcome.” … Zacha appears on schedule to be ready to play next Thursday against the Blue Jackets. He was able to shed the non-contact jersey for the regular sweater on Saturday.
Local News
A Boston man is facing charges after he allegedly lunged at a Burger King employee, punched a customer, and then resisted arrest at a nearby MBTA station in East Boston, authorities announced Monday afternoon.
Patrick Donovan, 59, was charged July 1 with one count of assault and battery causing injury on an over 60 or disabled person, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault, and vandalism, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release.
The charges stem from an incident shortly before 10 p.m. on June 30, when Boston police responded to a disturbance call from Burger King at 1 Maverick Square, Hayden’s office said.
A Burger King employee told officers that, after ordering his food and receiving it, Donovan yelled that he no longer wanted it and smacked a napkin holder off the counter. He then allegedly lunged at an employee and grabbed her by the arm, prosecutors said.
Donovan subsequently shoved a customer from behind and allegedly punched him in the face three times while calling him racial slurs, the DA’s office said.
Emergency medical services evaluated the customer for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” but the victim declined additional treatment, authorities said.
Donovan fled the restaurant following the assaults, and officers tracked him to the nearby MBTA Maverick Station, prosecutors said.
“While officers tried to detain Donovan inside the station, he swung at them with a closed fist but did not make contact,” Hayden’s office said, noting that Donovan made racial slurs towards the officers. “Donovan was placed into custody after a brief struggle.”
During his arraignment in the East Boston division of the Boston Municipal Court, Donovan pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. Court records show he was also ordered to stay away from Maverick Square and Burger King.
He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 7 for a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors said.
Officers obtained security footage of both assaults. Authorities said the incident remains under investigation and could result in further charges.
“Our workers deserve to be safe in their workplaces and our consumers deserve to be safe in their shopping or dining places, without exception,” Hayden said in a statement. “Beyond that, none of our citizens or first responders should be subjected to racial slurs. These appalling words have no place in Suffolk County or anywhere else in our society.”
Attorney information for Donovan was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
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A rideshare driver suspected of assaulting a passenger at Boston Logan International Airport on Friday is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Leonard Bacon, 23, was found in Lowell, where he lives, and taken into custody on Sunday, Massachusetts State Police said. He’s charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Bacon, who’s due to face the charge in East Boston District Court, had an attorney who could speak for him.
Police didn’t share more details on what Bacon is accused of doing. They’ve previously said that the rideshare passenger entered Terminal C just before 5:30 a.m. and reported that they had been physically assaulted by their driver prior to being dropped off.
After the passenger got out of the vehicle, the rideshare driver left the scene, according to police, who alerted area law enforcement agencies to look out for the suspect. The victim was taken to a Boston-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police added.
Police are looking for a rideshare driver who was reported to have assaulted a passenger right before drop-off at Boston’s Logan airport.
In a statement, Uber said they’ve checked in with the rider and removed the driver’s access to their rideshare platform.
“We are horrified by this reported violence,” a representative for the company said in a statement, adding, “Our specialized team has been in touch with law enforcement, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support their investigation.”
“She’s more than just a cyclist and an advocate,” Rose Frank, 36, who became friends with Gag in seventh grade, said. “Those were parts of her identity, but she’s such an amazing person in so many other ways, and we want to celebrate all of those ways.”
Gag, who grew up in Roslindale just minutes from the park, was a joyful and energetic child, said Mark Smith, 66, a neighbor who spoke at the event.
“She was the sweetest little girl with a big wide smile,” Smith said. “Whenever you were in her presence, you felt somehow special.”
Smith said Gag’s passion for giving back to her community likely came from her parents, Steve Gag and Laura Gang, longtime Roslindale residents who contributed greatly to developing the neighborhood. Steve Gag helped bring a farmers market to Adams Park, while Laura Gang was involved in the public library.
Gag’s loved ones said she grew up to become a generous person who cared deeply about her family and friends.
“Louisa showed up for people,” Molly Goodkind, 36, a childhood friend of Gag’s said during Sunday’s event. “We’ll never understand how she had time to be everyone’s go-to person.”
Gag, she said, would eagerly volunteer to cat-sit, even though she didn’t like cats. Another friend said she kept a spreadsheet of the birthdays of all the babies she knew.
“She was the person outside of my biological family who, if I needed something, she would be there in an instant,” Goodkind, who has known Gag since they were 2-years-old, said.
Gag’s friends said she was curious and remained open-minded, even though she held firm beliefs.
“Who do you know that was a vegetarian except for when it inconvenienced others? And of course, except for hot dogs, because according to Louisa, you can’t not have a hot dog at a barbecue,” Gag’s friend Danielle Shaked said, drawing laughs from the crowd, including Laura Gang, who dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled tissue.
Gag also found time for many hobbies, and was always trying new ones, her friends said. Beyond loving outdoor activities such as biking and hiking, she was passionate about sustainability and shopped secondhand or sewed her own clothes. She dabbled in photography, painting, and cooking.

Urban planning was one of Gag’s enduring passions, Goodkind said.
“In college, she created her own major,” she said. “I don’t remember exactly what she called it, but it was something like city and people.”
Gag attended college at the University of Rochester and later earned a master’s degree in urban and environmental planning and policy from Tufts University, according to her LinkedIn.
Before joining the city in 2022, Gag worked for LivableStreets Alliance, a Boston-based nonprofit that advocates for increased safety, equity, and affordability. She also interned for Mayor Michelle Wu when Wu was a city councilor.
Wu attended Sunday’s event, but did not speak. Like many other attendees, she held a yellow sunflower, one of Gag’s favorites, as she tearfully listened to the tributes.
While Gag didn’t like being the center of attention, her friends said she would have been grateful for Sunday’s event.
“She would be completely honored to know that she has impacted so many people,” Frank said, her gaze drifting over the people gathered in the park.
Under a small tent nearby, attendees crowded around a folding table, filling out remembrance cards. Dozens of bikes leaned against the park’s fences while more lay scattered in the grass.
Allyson Chiu can be reached at allyson.chiu@globe.com. Follow her on X @_allysonchiu.
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