Boston’s Charlie Coyle has been hesitant to shoot, something he and the Bruins know needs to change if they are to make a playoff push. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

If we have learned anything about the Boston Bruins, it is that they don’t stand much of chance to win unless they play a well-structured, stingy defensive game.

That, however, is not always enough.

In their loss to the Rangers on Wednesday, they didn’t give New York many opportunities, just 22 shots. However, the Bruins managed just 17 of their own and dropped an important game to another team vying for a wild-card berth.

In their last game before the break for the Four Nations Face-Off, generating offense will only get harder. Boston faces Coach Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Vegas is tied for eighth in goals against per game (2.73) and coming off a 3-1 win over New Jersey when it outshot the Devils 40-15. That snapped a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) for the Knights.

When the Bruins suffer offense outages, it is often because they don’t do the simple things – shoot the puck.

That’s something coach Joe Sacco wants to see more of so the Bruins can go into the two-week break feeling good about themselves.

“We’re deferring too much, at times,” said Sacco. “I go back to last game, we had some time in the offensive zone. I give the Rangers some credit. They did a good job defensively. But on the flipside we didn’t do a good enough job playing off the shot. I thought we over-passed sometimes when we could have gotten pucks to the net with two on the inside. For our group, it’s a constant reminder about how we have to play offensively. A little more shot volume.”

While he’s far from the only culprit, Charlie Coyle is a player known to be hesitant shoot. He said at times it’s something that players need to keep telling themselves.

“You can’t always look for the perfect play, because it’s usually not there. It usually doesn’t come,” said Coyle. “When you play off the shot, they have to move around and things open up that way .

“We get the puck to the net, bodies to the net and we bang home the rebound. Or we get the rebound and then we’re coming up with the puck and they’re a little lost. Who knows? Things open up, seams open up and that’s when you make your play and you score.”

A win on Saturday will keep the Bruins in striking distance of a playoff spot. A moves them closer to being sellers at the trade deadline, something both Bruins president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney have acknowledge is on the table.

“We took the last four games and treated it like playoff hockey. So far we’re 2-1 out of the four and we’ve got one more game to finish it off,” said Sacco. “It’s a massive opportunity for us. I feel if we can play a good, sound hockey game for us against one of the better teams in the league the last couple of years, it sets us up and puts us in a good spot going into the break. Because as we all know the standings are tight….there’s a logjam there. I look at it as an opportunity to go into the break, put ourselves in a better position and then when we get back, understanding what’s in front of us the last 25 games.”

SACCO WAS CASSIDY’S assistant in Boston for five-plus years. This will be the first time the two will battle it out as head coaches.

“A real good coach. Well-prepared, sees the game well. I thought he did a real good job getting a lot of out the group,” said Sacco of Cassidy. “A good all-around coach. Understands the game. He did a really good job I think of changing a little bit from the offensive side of the game when he came in implementing some things offensively. We already had a good, sound structure defensively (under Claude Julien) … There’s a lot of things he does well as coach. I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to work with him for six years. You learn from every coach you’re with and I certainly learned from him as well, too.”