When the Boston Bruins left last Wednesday on a plane for South Florida, they were looking toward a key four-game road trip in terms of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Coming off a win over the Dallas Stars for a fourth straight victory, the Bruins were facing a tricky trip.
Things haven't gone as planned. It began with a 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, which led to head coach Marco Sturm calling out his team after the game for not respecting a banged-up roster. On Saturday, they took a 1-0 lead into the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning, only to allow three goals in a 3-1 setback.
Two games, zero points in the standings. Not ideal. On Sunday afternoon, they faced a tough back-to-back against the surging Philadelphia Flyers. Trailing 1-0 heading into the third period, they got a Pavel Zacha goal to tie the game on the power play. Thanks to Joonas Korpisalo, they were able to pick up a loser point in a 2-1 Philadelphia overtime win. Tuesday night, they close out the trip against the Carolina Hurricanes. Boston announced some changes to their game day routine.
Bruins make changes to gameday routine ahead of Hurricanes showdown
If the Black and Gold can hang onto one of the Eastern Conference wild-card spots, this could be a first-round Stanley Cup Playoff matchup. According to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, the Bruins called off their morning gameday skate. That means Sturm won't speak to the media until about an hour before puck drop.
Now this can be read many different ways. This could be Sturm just giving his team less time on the ice, as they looked completely gassed on Sunday in Philadelphia. It could also signal some players being questionable for the game, and Sturm not wanting to tip his hand toward a lineup. Could James Hagens shake up the lineup? Unlikely, but some fans would love that.
It remains to be seen why this was called off, but make no mistake about it, Carolina has been a house of horrors for the Bruins in recent seasons. Given how things have gone lately, what makes you think it could change on Tuesday night?