As of the writing of this article the Boston Bruins are on the outside looking in on the playoff hunt. That is something the B’s aren’t used to dealing with over the past few years, and it is especially disappointing since they were the President’s Trophy winners just last season. Though there have been some personnel changes, namely the loss of the tough hard shooting wing Jarome Iginla and a big piece of the Bruins backend in Johnny Boychuk, otherwise the team is essentially the same.
The Fat Lady Hasn’t Sung Yet Bruins Fans, But She’s Warming Up
Now few were expecting the Bruins to repeat their President’s Trophy performance, nor did many think net minder Tuukka Rask was going to repeat his Vezina winning season of last year; but nobody expected such struggles. In the last 10 games the Bruin’s record is an abysmal 4-2-4 and they have only played half of those games against teams that currently hold playoff spots. Of those five only two of were wins; impressive victories against Detroit and Central Division leading Nashville. The three losses were overtime losses against the Predators, and Eastern Conference rival Toronto as well as a regulation loss to current Western Wild Card holder Winnipeg.
The other five games were all against teams with worse records than the Bruins and will most likely not be in the playoff discussion going forward. Something the B’s are in danger of themselves. Those games include an overtime loss to bottom feeding Carolina, a 6-2 demoralizer against Columbus, an overtime loss to Ottawa, a win against Minnesota and a win against second to last place in the east Buffalo both of which the B’s needed overtime to get the extra point. All in all six of the last 10 games have gone to overtime and the majority of those were against teams that they should have been able to handle easily in regulation.
With obvious holes in the lineup both on the defensive end and being able to put the puck in the net the Bruins are in trouble here at the halfway point in the season. However, there is evidence to believe that the team is capable of making the playoffs with their current lineup. With wins against Detroit and Nashville and taking a second game against the Preds to overtime shows they can play three periods of top level hockey. Even against Toronto the goals they gave up weren’t great but they showed they can play through some adversity and make up for mistakes. They took that game to overtime where they ultimately lost in a shootout but it at least showed signs of life.
Easier said than done, all the Bruins have to do is play complete 60 minute games every single game. Keep playing tough against the top teams and stop playing down to teams that should be an easy two points. That means Milan Lucic can’t coast through games. Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski can’t turn their backs and forget about the wide open man on the back door. Aging Zdeno Chara can’t take chances and risk getting burned leaving his partner to take on multiple odd man rushes per game. The rest of the forwards need to finish each play, bury the puck when they have the chance and play with some intensity to pick their teammates up if they start to slack off. We’ll see in tonight’s tilt against Pittsburgh if they’re ready to compete at the top end of the league going forward.
When Johnny Boychuk was traded just before the start of the season Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said that was one move in a series of moves to come. 40 games into the season and there haven’t been any other moves made. The team can’t hope that Chiarelli is going to bring somebody in that is going to magically fix all their problems. If they can turn it around and start playing complete games they can make the playoffs and if another major piece is brought in then they will have the ability to make something out of themselves come April and May.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @Billman93. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for? GO!
Main Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images
