Every team has rough patches. This includes the Boston Bruins. The Black and Gold suffered their third three-game losing streak of the season with tonight’s 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
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The Boston Bruins had three opportunities to push the Montreal Canadiens off the top of the Atlantic division. Three times the Bruins just couldn’t get that final push. Even worse, the Bruins lost their best offensive blueliner Torey Krug in their loss to Buffalo, and now David Krejci has an upper body injury sustained in tonight’s game against Ottawa.
With the Bruins loss, things have gotten very jumbled in the Atlantic. The Detroit Red Wings have come in and taken over first place in the division, having two games in hand on Montreal. Currently, there are three teams just one point behind them, the Bruins being one of them. Thankfully, the Canadiens have lost ten out of their last eleven and seem lost without Carey Price in net.
Now every point is crucial. The Bruins have picked one of the worst possible times to go on a scoring slump. So what’s going on with the B’s right now? It seems the Bruins have gotten a little too comfortable, and that’s hurt them these last three games.
Puck Prose
“I think lately we’ve been maybe a little comfortable, and we have to get back to playing the way we did when we were playing well,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand after their loss to Buffalo. “We just seem to be . . . we’re not as physical, we’re not on the forecheck as hard, and we’re not shutting teams down as well as we did before. We’re giving them a little too much room, too much space, too many opportunities and we’re just not playing as good hockey as we can.
“We have to realize that we’re only good when we work hard and when we play within the system. When we deviate away from that then teams are able to beat us like they did tonight.”
The Bruins have deviated from their system, and it has cost them. While they’re still third in the division, their place is extremely precarious. One point separates first from fifth in the division. One point between a guaranteed position in playoff contention, and languishing on the outside.
Now, the Bruins have to remember how to play their brand of hockey. The Bruins know they’ve got to reestablish their game, and they get just one more chance to do so as they get ready for the Winter Classic.