Quickly falling down the Eastern Conference standings, the Boston Bruins are in desperate need of a win on Thursday night. Since coming back from the 4 Nations Face-Off last Saturday night, the Black and Gold have dropped back-to-back overtime decisions to the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. What’s frustrating is that they played well enough in both games to win instead of overtime losses. They deserved more than the two loser points they got.
The Bruins will close out a three-game homestand against the New York Islanders and quite frankly, anything less than two points and let the trade deadline retool begin in full effect.
Bruins facing must-win against Islanders
This should be two points for the Black and Gold in the standings, but anything is given in 2024-25 with this team. After beating the Islanders on Thanksgiving Eve on Long Island, the Bruins dropped an overtime decision in January at the TD Garden in a game that should have been two points despite playing a tough back-to-back. Like the Bruins, New York is getting ready to sell by next Friday’s deadline.
Just how frustrating have things got for Boston? When they finally put the puck in the back of the net, they struggle to keep it out. When they get good goaltending, they struggle to put the puck in the net, which has summed up the last two games.
Normally this time of year, this would be a game for the Bruins to get a look at some potential trade deadline targets, but not this year. They are heading down the road of becoming a seller of some kind and a retool. Years of buying at the trade deadline and having it fail with a Stanley Cup championship have caught up with Don Sweeney.
Just who is moved remains to be seen, but don't be surprised if the Bruins make some moves at the deadline with an eye toward the future. Getting some players in return with term for next year is not out of the question. Blowing it up and rebuilding from the bottom up is not an option that the front office wants to go and neither would their core of players who are under contract for years to come. A retool is the best path right now for the Black and Gold.