Bruins penalty kill sends alarming signal

The Boston Bruins were on the short end of a 7-2 walloping at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at the Canadian Tire Center.

The solid effort against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday was erased by the disastrous outing against the Sens.

But the outing itself wasn’t bad enough. It was the four power play goals that the Senators racked up that made minced meat out of the Bruins. All told, the Senators’ power play went 4-for-5.

Ouch.

But it wasn’t just the fact that the Bruins gave up the four power play goals. It was how easy the Senators made it seem.

Case in point, Tim Stutzle’s first power play goal. Here’s a look:

It took all of five seconds for the Senators to score. The goal started with Sean Kuraly losing the draw, then the puck circling until Stutzle waltzed in and let the shot fly past Swayman. It was as easy as that. None of the Bruins on the ice went out of their way to prevent the goal from happening.

This poignant example signals an alarm that cannot be ignored any longer. The Bruins seem like they lack the grit and drive to win hockey games. It seems that Monday night’s effort is the warning light on the dashboard that requires immediate attention.

Could Bruins be ready to punt on the season?

One of the questions that has emerged over the last few days has been the possibility of the Bruins punting on this season. Sure, the Bruins are just 11 games into the season. But the trends on the ice don’t seem to point towards a positive outcome.

Could it just be a matter of the team adjusting to a new coach? Could a turnaround be forthcoming?

The fact is that the Bruins don’t have much time left to figure things out. The unofficial Thanksgiving signpost is fast approaching. If the Bruins continue mired in last place in the Atlantic Division, the conversation could swiftly turn to a retool/rebuild.

Of course, nuking the team and starting over would likely be the last thing on everyone’s minds. But the Bruins could be on the verge of an inevitable path. A full-on rebuild might be too difficult to ignore unless Don Sweeney can pull off a miraculous retool on the fly.

Anything is possible, but it doesn’t seem like the odds are on the Bruins’ side at this point.