Boston Bruins Define Desperation
Jan 3, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing
Bobby Ryan(6) (not pictured) scores the game-winning goal during overtime past Boston Bruins goalie
Tuukka Rask(40) at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Desperation: noun; the act of being desperate or of having the recklessness of despair.
“So I know Chiarelli is working the phones. He’s trying. But they’re a cap team and when injury bites and you create bigger holes in your lineup by moving a player like Johnny Boychuk, maybe this team has been slow to try and react…I think desperation is a word that should be attached to the Boston Bruins.” – Darren Dreger on the Boston Bruins.
Desperation is a word that has been swirling around the Boston Bruins team since the departure of Nathan Horton, though the term has been used in different forms through the past couple of years, it has still been a hindrance. Now the Bruins are the living definition, a team that is in dire need of help. While it started out with being unable to fill the position of Nathan Horton and then Jarome Iginla, it has grown into a much bigger issue, one that the Boston Bruins organization still isn’t sure how to fix.
In retrospect, moving Johnny Boychuk was perpetually the epitome of the Bruins spiral downward. Already reeling from Jarome Iginla deciding to sign with Colorado and unsure of how to fill a top-line spot, management decided it would be a good idea to trade away a big piece to the Bruins defensive core. As Dreger stated;
“…When injury bites and you create bigger holes in your lineup by moving a player like Johnny Boychuk, maybe this team has been slow to try and react.”
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In having these big holes to fill, guys like Milan Lucic have had some added responsibilities. With a multitude of young players coming into the locker room to fill in for those who are injured, he takes it upon himself to be a mentor. He has always been a stand-up player on and off the ice, holding himself accountable for all of his actions and openly admitting when he has downfalls in his performance (as we have seen a few times this season already).
“From what I was four or five years ago, to who I am now, I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot. It’s up to all of us to help the new guys coming in, showing them the way and what it takes to get to that elite, elite level.” He said following the team’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday.”The GM can only do so much, the coaches can only do so much. It’s up to us as the players to start taking responsibility and start steering this in the right direction.”
Following this afternoon’s loss, the frustration was unmistakable in the Bruins locker room. After a .885 save percentage on 26 shots, Tuukka Rask voiced his distaste to reporters;
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“Honestly, it’s so frustrating. We played a solid defensive game, we killed two big 5-on-3’s there, and we battled really hard. You’re kind of feeling that it’s starting to turn the corner, and maybe the bounces are starting to go our way, and then… I’m not going to say what happens, but you know. [The puck is going] five feet wide of the net, and hits his skates, and cross body.”
With exasperation he then stated how he ‘hopes’ the Bruins turns around soon and that the team begins to catch a break somewhere.
While Claude Julien may be keeping his temper under wraps, stating his team is playing “well enough to win,” his team and upper management are visually and verbally saying otherwise (Cam Neely stormed out of the press box after the Bruins lost this afternoon). While he may think they are playing well enough, time is running out for them to continue dropping the ball as they already sit out of playoff contention and allowed the Senators to inch 2 points closer in chase.