Your Boston Bruins are on what we call in the biz… a skid. A dry spell, a bump in the road, call it a bad stretch. Can you call it a losing streak? I guess. I mean it is what it is and you’re only as good as your record says you are. The B’s have lost 3 in a row to DET, NYR and (checks notes) CBJ. Yep, you read that correctly: first a team that is in rebuild mode, then a team that doesn’t have a legitimate star and finally an AHL team that plays in Ohio. Woof, that’s a tough look.
Where does the fault lay? Can we still blame Tuukka? Has the leadership group lost its’ mojo and/or it’s swagger? Are Monty and the coaching staff being exposed? Have the boys in Black and Gold lost too much talent to make up for? Let’s get into it.
After handing a “fullish” 60 minute beatdown to the Montreal Canadiens (you can find an excellent recap of that game here), the boys then lost a squeaker in OT to the Tampa Bay Lightning (tough to win in OT when you don’t possess the puck, but I digress) before somehow winning at the Florida Panthers with a solid C effort game plan (they didn’t land a shot on Bob until past the 8min mark) on the dad’s trip. Nice to win a game in front of the dad’s, but then what the hell happened?
The Bruins lost the next 3 by a combined score of 17-8. Wait a minute, I thought the defense and goaltending were the strength of this squad? The Bruins star players have been being targeted and no one, I mean no one, is doing anything. The Bruins are scoring, but not the players you’d expect to be scoring. The team’s puck management is horrible and their defensive gaps are big enough to drive a Zamboni through. And the line changes? Holy shit, it’s like beer league out there. Starting in the TBL game, (although maybe not at FLA) at least a goal a game can been attributed to a bad change. Forwards peeling off on the back check, defense changing when their partner is on the rush, it’s been so bad that I half expect a goalie to go to the bench during game play for a quick sniff of the smelling salts.
How do they fix it and get it turned around? If you dip into any of the online groups it’s a steady call for tough guys. Someone with the “re-sign Adam McQuaid to the squad” and another with the “what’s Sean Thornton doing these days”? Amidst all of this, everyone turns their lonely eyes to Milan Lucic: last seen leaving the courthouse after ALLEGEDLY choking his wife when he couldn’t find his cell phone. Unless it’s a wives carnival, I don’t know how much good Lucic is going to do you with his physicality these days. Much more on him to come later as his case progresses – a reminder that he is innocent until proven guilty. There’s one bozo out there that’s been beating the drum that this is all Don Sweeney’s fault for not having enough Canadiens on the roster. These people are real, they live among us and they vote. Yikes.
Maybe, just maybe, the B’s got out a little too far over their skis and this is not an elite team that was rolling at another historic rate? Maybe the loss of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and the plethora of free agents is too much to overcome? Maybe the team has an influx of young talent that is going through some growing pains? Maybe it’s a little bit of all of the above?
Look, the B’s have the best goalie tandem in the league. Jim Montgomery is a player’s coach and that’s what this group has thrived under. Brad Marchand will do literally almost anything he can to win. The backend is still solid and the defensive system in place hasn’t changed. Yeah it’s a tough stretch, but crawl back from the ledge, take the toaster away from the bathtub, it’s not cause to worry…. at least not yet. The Bruins have a favorable schedule for the next few weeks and are still 4pts up in the division. And even after giving up 17 goals in the last 3 games, they are still tied in the division for the lowest goals against.
Talk to me after the new year and let’s see where they’re at.
For now, I’m putting that panic button out of reach and putting my Black and Gold sunglasses back on. In with the good air, out with the bad air.. Namaste
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The Morning Skate 