from Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe,

Sinden believes that in playoff hockey, a team needs an edge in three areas: goaltending, power play, and officiating.

1. Goaltending: “When I was coaching, we had [Gerry] Cheevers and Eddie Johnston. They were good, and Cheevers was the dominant of the two. Here, it’s very close and the kid [Jeremy Swayman] has really improved this season. That’s probably the biggest reason for us having the season we are. We have a really good goaltender [Linus Ullmark] and one that’s almost as good. In other years when we won the Presidents’ Trophy and didn’t win the Cup, we didn’t have the goaltending that we have now. It’s like having the quarterback in football.”

2. Power play: “I don’t think we’re getting as much out of the power play as we should. You need six or seven clever players to make a power play work. We have those players, but we’re not getting the results out of it. It does go in spells where it’s great for a while and then all of a sudden you can’t score anymore.”

3. Officiating: “It’s like in football. Ninety percent of the calls could go either way. You’ve got to get the officials to go your way, and it becomes a part of the playoffs. A penalty here or there and you’re out.”

“I like our team,” Sinden added. “We have a very strong defense, two goaltenders, and a game-breaker at any time in [David] Pastrnak. He can score at any time.”

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