The Boston Bruins have appeared to develop a bit of an aversion to winning. Last night’s game was so off-putting to watch. Time for the team to wake up.
Yes, the Boston Bruins are probably the most injury plagued team in the NHL right now. But that is no excuse for what happened in last night’s game. There is no rhyme or reason as to why the Bruins lost that game to the Anaheim Ducks last night.
The Bruins, after a fairly even first period, DOMINATED the second. They physically punished the Ducks, and outshot them 15-3 in the frame. At one point after Danton Heinen scored his sweet goal, the shots were 12-0 Bruins. Only problem? They were outscored in the period 2-1, en route to a 4-2 loss.
The team travels north on the I-5 tonight to face the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Kings, who sit at 11-5-2, 24 points on the season. For those with short memories, the Bruins already played the Kings earlier this season in Boston. The Bruins endured a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime, in arguably the overall best played game by the team this season. The Bruins currently find themselves at under .500 (6-7-4, 16 points) for the first time in exactly a month.
Schedule
Remember that Box o’ Joe I recommended you get yesterday? Well, I didn’t get one and paid the price during the game last night…and that was a 10:00 pm puck drop. Of course, coincidence of all coincidences, the picture I happen to find of some Dunks coffee, was taken in Los Angeles. Go figure.
Tonight at the Staples Center, the puck won’t hit the ice until 10:30 pm. For fans still inclined to watch the games, NESN will provide the TV coverage, and 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the radio call.
What to watch for
Well, I wish I could say I was surprised. However, it appears Torey Krug was nicked up in last night’s game. In full disclosure, I didn’t notice during the game that he wasn’t on the ice much in the 3rd. Not exactly proud of that, but also, a testament to the game played last night by the team. The injury is undisclosed at this time according to Matt Kalman. Krug has been on a roll recently in the offensive end, with 9 points in his last 8 games.
David Krejci was a gametime decision yesterday, but watched the game from the press box. Here’s hoping he’s back for tonight’s game. As pointed out by WEEI’s Ty Anderson during last night’s game, the Bruins could really use him back on the power play. With Krejci, the team’s power play was at 29.6%. Without him, the team is 5-for-33, or 15%. Think Krejci isn’t a playmaker? Those numbers don’t lie. If Krejci plays, I imagine a guy like Jordan Szwarz would sit.
Tuukka Rask allowed 2 goals on 3 shots in the second period last night. One was a fluke goal off Zdeno Chara’s skate when the big man wasn’t paying attention. The other was bad positional defense by the guys in front of him. But still. The first goal scored by the Ducks last night was due to Rask not being able to control a rebound from a shot right off his chest. That can’t happen. We can’t continuously blame the guys in front of him forever. At some point, he needs to be our best player. If not, these losses will continue to pile up.
Next: Bruins Week 6: Panic button time?
Rask currently sports a putrid 0.897 save percentage, and a 2.89 GAA. I imagine Khudobin will get the start tonight against the Kings. Khudobin has yet to lose a game in regulation this season (3-0-2, and has…decent splits (0.923 sv% and 2.60 GAA). Here’s hoping the Bruins can salvage some points from this 3 game road trip. Unfortunately, it looks like the games started by Dobby are the best chance at points these days.