Somebody tell the Boston Bruins that the famous name “Big Bad Bruins” refers to grit, not their record. In three games, the Bruins have allowed 16 goals against while only scoring 7, which has resulted in a 0-3-0 record. This is the first time the Bruins have started the regular season with a record of 0-3-0 since 1999 – a little over 15 years. Additionally, this is the first time the Bruins have lost their first three home games since 1965 – 50 years ago.
Ultimately, the poor start to the season has a lot to do with the Bruins defense – or lack thereof. Only on two occasions has Rask allowed a soft goal, leaving the other 14 goals a result of bad defense from the blueliners. The Bruins have dealt with early defensive struggles with Dennis Seidenberg out, and Zdeno Chara missing the first two games. The organization looked to the inexperienced defenseman in Colin Miller, Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman and Matt Irwin to step-up to the challenge. Although as most people recognize, you can’t rely heavily on young-defenseman to step-up. The National Hockey League is the stage for the elite. It takes a lot of training, commitment and diligence as a defenseman before stepping on to the ice with the elite forwards. Believe it or not, but this is a good opportunity for the Bruins management to address what needs to be fixed, and alter the training dynamics for younger defenseman.
It’s also no coincidence that the Bruins defensive struggles happen directly after trading away current Calgary Flame Dougie Hamilton. Hamilton was arguably the best defenseman for the Bruins. But after supposedly not wanting to re-sign with the Bruins, Hamilton was shipped out of Boston and sent to Calgary – which now has one of the best D-corps in the league. Trading away Hamilton has hurt the Bruins immensely, as there isn’t a replacement for what the 6’5″ defenseman brought to the table. He was strong on the stick and had a brilliant transition game as well.
Speaking of the “Big Bad Bruins”, the grit that has made the Bruins famous, or infamous however you want to look at it, has almost disappeared. The Bruins used to be a team that was relentless and not afraid to shake things up game in and game out. Having had players like Terry O’Reilly, Cam Neely, Jay Miller, PJ Stock, Shawn Thornton, Milan Lucic and many more, grit has been an essential piece of the organization throughout history. That element of the organization is fading away as the years go by – especially after letting Shawn Thornton walk away, as well as dealing Milan Lucic to the LA Kings. The Bruins are still a strong team, but nowhere near as strong as they have been in the past – and everyone knows that the Bruins are best when they use strength and grit to their advantage.
