{"id":38839,"date":"2018-12-11T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=38839"},"modified":"2018-12-10T23:28:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T04:28:43","slug":"injured-boston-bruins-team-off-to-a-shaky-start-in-december","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/12\/11\/injured-boston-bruins-team-off-to-a-shaky-start-in-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Injured Boston Bruins team off to a shaky start in December"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Bruins<\/a> are 2-3 in their first five games of the month. The first day into December, the Bruins played the Detroit Red Wings<\/a> at home \u2014 a team outside of the playoff bubble. They lost their first of three straight to Detroit, also falling to the Florida Panthers<\/a> in a dismal 5-0 game and to the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> 3-2. The injured Boston Bruins team did not start the month the way they needed it to.<\/p>\n

Injured Boston Bruins team off to a shaky start in December<\/h1>\n

Bruins add Smith<\/h2>\n

Since the game against Tampa Bay, the Bruins have tried to adjust. Realizing a lack of depth at centre, the Bruins picked up Gemel Smith<\/a><\/strong> from the Dallas Stars<\/a>, who had two goals and an assist in 14 games for Dallas.<\/p>\n

Smith only played 77 games for the Stars in three years. The transaction certainly doesn’t fill exactly what the Bruins needed at centre without Patrice Bergeron<\/a><\/strong> as Smith only has 11 career goals and won an average of 44.6 percent of face-offs taken.<\/p>\n

Smith only registered two shots in his debut for the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> and only played 11:40. In the Bruins game against Toronto, they continued to be the Canadian team\u2019s weakness and cruised to a 6-3 win with a few of their opponents\u2019 goals coming in the late minutes of the game.<\/p>\n

The Bruins also won a 2-1 game against the Ottawa Senators<\/a> \u2014 a game they needed to win against a team that players around the league are identifying as a self-destructive organization. That game was much more than just two points in the standings.<\/p>\n

McAvoy Returns<\/h2>\n

During the early days of the month, the Bruins also reactivated defenseman Charlie McAvoy<\/a><\/strong> from injured reserve. In the game against Toronto, Zach Hyman<\/a><\/strong> hit him late and gave the team a scare as he went down when the game was already 6-2. McAvoy returned to the bench but didn\u2019t play for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n