Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
With five minutes left in the third period against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the Boston Bruins appeared to have the game in hand. But from that point on, the Bruins were faced with reality – and another disappointing result in a busy season.
First, Boston gave up a goal from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen to bring Ottawa within one goal and make it 5-4 in favor of the Bruins. Then, with 12 seconds left in regulation, the Senators scored again to force overtime. And after that, the Bs couldn’t score in overtime and ended up losing to the Sens 6-5 in a shootout. It was quite a disheartening result for Boston, which was 3-6-2 in its last 11 games and lost a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. And this current streak is something we’ve rarely, if ever, seen from the Bruins in recent years.
Is it time for Bruins management and fans to panic? Maybe not a full-blown, sweat-soaked-in-the-armpits kind of panic, but we’re getting dangerously close to legitimate panic mode. And if they fall further away from the playoffs, Boston will have some tough choices to make in the coming weeks.
The Bruins still have one of the weakest offenses in the NHL this season, with a goals per game average of 2.70 – the 26th worst average in the league. And somehow, things have gotten progressively worse in this category in recent weeks. Indeed, during their recent six-game losing streak that began on New Year’s Eve and ended on January 9, there were four games in which they scored one goal or less. And even when the offense was effective, there were two games in that span where Boston scored four goals and still managed to lose.
And now, with a particularly difficult part of their schedule immediately ahead of them, the Bruins face several different paths. Are they sticking to the status quo? Are they a buyer or seller at the trade deadline? And do they need to implement any style changes on the ice to become a more dangerous team?
Well, from this author’s perspective, staying up is the least likely way to get back into a playoff spot. We should know at this point that former coach Jim Montgomery was not the main problem in Boston. And we should know that the Bruins don’t have the personnel to change their approach and start playing like the vintage-era New Jersey Devils on “D.” Boston’s current group is structurally flawed, and nothing interim coach Joe Sacco has done should suggest the Bruins are going to flip a button and suddenly become the true Stanley Cup threat they’ve been these past few years. recent years.
From this perspective, it’s obvious that Boston needs to trade players – either in hopes of turning things around this season and clinching a playoff spot, or from a long-term perspective. The Bruins currently have just over $5.71 million in salary cap spaceso in theory, at least, they can try to improve via the commercial market. But here’s the bigger problem: What does Boston have to offer that other teams would actually want?
It’s not like the Bruins have a shipment of UFAs waiting that they can convert into long- or short-term assets before the March 7 trade deadline. Forward Trent Frederic is the highest-profile UFA that could be traded, but he’s a player who has just seven goals and 14 points in 47 games. There won’t be a bidding war against anyone the Bruins would consider moving via trade.
Related: Five NHL trade destinations for Blackhawks’ Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato
So Boston general manager Don Sweeney has virtually no leverage in trade negotiations, especially if his plan is to deal his team’s mediocre players to another team. And that means he’s about to have no choice but to depend on an internal turnaround. But again, it’s a scary proposition for Bs fans who are completely disenchanted with what they’ve seen this season. It’s increasingly likely that the Bruins will be locked out for the rest of the year and will have to attempt a major roster shakeup this summer.
We can debate what the Bruins should do until we’re blue in the face, but here’s the truth: Not only are they not in playoff wild card position right now, they’re also in acute danger. to be ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, who are only two points behind them in the standings and who have two games in hand against the Bruins. Likewise, Boston is just two points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers, three points ahead of the New York Rangers (who have two games in hand against the Bruins) and four points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (who have also two matches in hand). on B). The immediate future doesn’t look bright for Boston, to say the least.
For the first time in a very long time, there are more gray clouds than glimmers of hope hovering over the Bruins, and Sweeney is unable to make the type of change that will turn his team around in the playoffs this spring. . And for Boston fans accustomed to dominating the play of their beloved Bruins, the B’s horrendous results could be a sign of even worse days to come.
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