Bruins
COMMENT
The last time the Bruins lost six games in a row was in March 2015 – when a retooled Bruins squad stuck in no man's land headed down the trail to a failed postseason bid.
The more things change…
The 2024-25 Bruins at the moment are cut from an analogous cloth, with a season that after began so promising teetering getting ready to disaster.
Once seemingly revitalized after Joe Sacco took the reins of a rudderless squad in mid-November, the wheels have now faltered once more for a team hampered by each poor squad construction and a merry-go-round of underperforming starters.
After Boston's most up-to-date disappointment – a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning – the numbers aren't pretty.
The Bruins have yet to record a win because the calendar turned to 2025, with Boston's only win because the holiday break coming on Dec. 28 coming against a goalie in Columbus' Daniil Tarasov with an .857 save percentage.
In that six-game loss, the Bruins were outnumbered 24-11 and boasted just 11:05 minutes left.
A two-goal lead for the Bolts after 40 minutes all but sealed Boston's fate, because the Bruins had scored only one goal (or less) in 13 of their 44 games to date this season.
Boston's Thirty first-ranked power play hasn't converted a single goal in eight games, while only seven teams have scored fewer 5-on-5 goals than Boston this season.
Add in a Twenty fifth-ranked penalty kill (75.9 percent), a porous zone defense and a pedestrian season from Jeremy Swayman (.893 save percentage), and the Bruins at the moment are clinging to a wild-card spot with each Blue Jackets and the Penguins are only one point behind them within the standings.
The Bruins are one in every of only three teams in the present playoff picture with a negative goal difference. But their minus-27 mark is the worst in all the Eastern Conference – and the fourth-lowest mark in all the NHL.
In other words, the 2023-24 Bruins could possibly be exactly what they’re this season: a mediocre team preparing for either an extended offseason or a fast fall in the primary round.
It's been a frustrating season for the Bruins all along – a mood heightened by Boston's inaction to shake up an underperforming lineup at this critical moment.
The need for change – be it a call from Providence or an exchange of messages – was long overdue.
A game that was taken away from the fans calls for Don Sweeney to be fired from TD GardenThe Bruins made no adjustments to their lineup before heading to Florida, where they played two games against the Bolts and Panthers.
As the Bruins' top brass grapple with what could also be the appropriate (albeit painful) plan of action in relation to potentially selling pieces before the March 7 deadline, the reluctance to trade young talent in hopes of a short-term spark stays to convene is puzzling.
It stays to be seen what young players like Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov should offer on the NHL level – and whether it's just wishful pondering that these unproven forwards have the abilities to right the ship with a punchless forward corps .
But the Bruins won't have those answers either in the event that they proceed to allow them to marinate in Providence – while either players like Oliver Wahlstrom, who don't crave a black-and-gold sweater, or underperforming starters like Trent Frederic proceed to make no difference.
Yes, everyone knows the failings in relation to Boston's projected next wave of young people.
Poitras must avoid putting himself in vulnerable situations and gain a couple of kilos. Both Merkulov and Lysell still have some work to do in relation to controlling the puck.
It probably won't be pretty at times if all three of those players get a probability with the Bruins this winter.
But would these mistakes and mistakes be different than what we've already seen from the players who’re already performing well at the best level of hockey?
If the 2024-25 season is already looking like a lost yr, the onus is on the Bruins' top players to attract as much hope as possible this yr by encouraging the event of the team's small talent pool.
If guys like Poitras and Lysell can't sustain, no less than the Bruins and a fan base lacking in skill and excitement finally have clarity. And in the event that they can do it, Boston can add some recent constructing blocks to its foundation for the long run.
But for now, the Bruins seem content to spin their wheels within the hopes that a roster already firing on all cylinders can create a midseason spark.
Be it embracing a youth movement, selling UFAs in exchange for capital withdrawal, and even shifting fundamental parts within the hope of a significant restructuring (Call Vancouver?)there must be something.
Because this Bruins squad – because it is currently composed – just isn’t enough.
image credit : www.boston.com