Just when you think the Boston Bruins have hit rock-bottom in 2024-25, they surprise you. After losing last Thursday night in Dallas, 7-2, they returned home and lost in overtime to the St. Louis Blues, 3-2, on Saturday against a team that was missing four of their top-six defensemen.
Monday night, the Black and Gold hit an all new all-time, rock-bottom low this season with a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on TD Garden ice. The loss drops them to 8-9-3 through 20 games and things are getting worse by the day. There is no easy fix to their problems, but something needs to be done and done soon or the season will be over before Christmas.
Bruins hit rock-bottom in loss to Blue Jackets
The Bruins dug themselves a 3-0 deficit to Columbus after 20 minutes. It was bad hockey, to say the least. They allowed the first goal when Brandon Carlo slid into Jeremy Swayman after he made a save on a breakaway and Boston's big defenseman knocked the puck into the net. That was just the beginning.
On the power play later in the period, the Bruins got lazy, very lazy with the puck and it led to a Mathieu Olivier goal when he swept out in front of the net and beat Swayman for a 2-0 lead. Then to add insult to injury, former Bruin James van Riemsdyk scores his third goal of the season with 32 seconds left in the period. In the third period for good measure, they allowed a second shorthanded goal to the Blue Jackets. Yikes.
Elvis Mzerlinkis turned back 29 of 30 Bruins' shots with the only goal getting by him was a second period power-play goal by Charlie Coyle. That was the only bright spot for the Black and Gold in what was the most embarrassing performance of the seaosn to date and that's saying a lot.
Just where the organization goes from here, that's right, the organization, remains to be seen. Did Jim Montgomery coach his last game as the Bruins coach? Maybe, but there is blame to go around from the players to the front office. This season is quickly turning into a lost season with no end to the struggles in sight.
You can make the case that the Bruins quit in the game and it's something that has been brought up multiple times by many people. Lack of details, lack of defending in the defensive zone, and just not having enough players to finish in the offensive end are adding up to what could become very quickly a lost season for the Boston Bruins.