{"id":101902,"date":"2021-03-01T07:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T12:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=101902"},"modified":"2021-02-28T19:25:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T00:25:12","slug":"boston-bruins-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/03\/01\/boston-bruins-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining What is Wrong with the Boston Bruins Defence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Bruins enter Sunday with more questions than answers after back-to-back humiliating defeats. They lost 7-3 at the New York Islanders<\/a> on Thursday and followed that up with a 6-2 loss at the New York Rangers<\/a> the next day. Not what was expected from the Eastern Divisions leading team, who were 11-3-2 before. They were also riding a high from their 7-3 win in Lake Tahoe. The fun in sun in the west has come to a screeching halt in the east. How did things go so wrong so fast, and what is wrong with the Boston Bruins defence?<\/p>\n

Boston Bruins Defence is Thin<\/h2>\n

Injuries<\/h3>\n

The obvious answer to the Boston Bruins defence and their woes in New York is injuries. They entered both contests without three of their top-six defensemen. Kevan Miller<\/a>, who also missed Lake Tahoe, is dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired knee. Matt Grzelcyk<\/a> continues to try to come back from a lower-body injury that has kept him out 12 of the Bruins 18 games.\u00a0 They also lost Jeremy Lauzon<\/a><\/strong> in Tahoe to a broken hand, which will keep him out for at least four weeks. Number two centre David Krejci<\/a> also did not make the trip with the team to New York.\u00a0 He is nursing a lower-body injury. Add all this up and you can perhaps excuse the defending Presidents Trophy champions from not being at their best. But is there more to this than just a lack of manpower at this point in the season?<\/p>\n

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Next Man Up<\/h3>\n

The Bruins are no strangers to injuries. This year alone, all-world forward David Pastrnak<\/a> missed the first seven games of the season. Second-line right-wing Ondrej Kase<\/a> has been out since game two. As well, Jake DeBrusk was on the shelf for five games earlier in the year. Yet Boston managed to thrive in their absence, with only one regulation loss in the first 13 games of 2021. Injuries have plagued them in years past as well. Coach Bruce Cassidy<\/a> is a big proponent of the “next man up” mentality and this has served this team well. After all, they allowed their top-scoring defenceman Torey Krug<\/a><\/strong> to sign elsewhere in the offseason<\/a>.\u00a0 They also let longtime captain Zdeno Chara<\/a> go as well.<\/p>\n

Yet young players have managed to step in and keep\u00a0 Boston as the top team in the division once again. Every team over the course of a year will battle injuries or illness, maybe this year more than ever with COVID-19. This is a team with high expectations as one of the favourites to win the Stanley Cup. It is also a young team, especially on defence, still trying to find themselves. Perhaps they need to find something else.<\/p>\n