As a general rule, I don’t think you want to get too high or too low after a shootout.

Regardless of the end result, a shootout often means that for 65 minutes, you and your opponent were hanging with one another. And that’s exactly what the Boston Bruins did last night in their shootout loss to Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators. The B’s got goals from Milan Lucic and Reilly Smith, and were even against the Preds in scoring chances, faceoffs, and even time in the attacking end. To lose in a three-round shootout isn’t the end of the world, especially against Nashville.

The results are still ugly no matter the positives you choose to take though-- they’ve lost six of their last seven, eight of their last 10, and are now winless in three games since Zdeno Chara’s return to the ice.

With the loss and a Florida win (and another Toronto victory), the Bruins are out of the playoff picture, sitting eight points out of the first wild card and one away from the second. And as it stands right now, the Black and Gold have a 25.6% percent chance to make the postseason.

This is all quite worrisome.

It doesn’t get much easier, either. Heading to Minnesota for a Wednesday Night Rivalry (still don’t get that one) showdown with the Wild, the B’s will look for a win in the second leg of a back-to-back for the first time in 2014-15. (They’re a brutal 0-5-0 in five of those this season, with three of those losses coming against the Montreal Canadiens.) They’re also going going against a Wild squad that beat them with a strong third period in Boston back in October, and one that’s won nine of 13 games at home this season.

But amid the mess of bad news, there’s some hope for the Bruins: Top-line center David Krejci, who’s missed 17 of the last 19 games (since Nov. 1), might suit up for tonight’s game.

Krejci’s value to the Bruins goes without saying at this point, really. Recording three goals and 10 points in 11 games this year, the Bruins are 7-4-0 with Krejci in the lineup, with 36 goals scored (3.27 goals per game). Without Krejci in the lineup this season, the B’s are 8-9-3 and have scored 40 goals (2.00 goals per game).

At the same time, it’d be naive of anybody to suggest that a potential Krejci return, especially with Krejci at less than 100 percent, cures this team’s woes.

The Bruins still need more from Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg. Lucic and Smith need to make their recent contributions a full-time thing. The Black and Gold can’t rely on the Bergeron line to do everything (meaning score at one end and play shutdown defense at the other end for a full 60), nor can they rely on Tuukka Rask to consistently hold teams to the tune of a .935 save percentage and upward.

Simply put, the Bruins need more. And until they get that, they’re going to continue to skate as an average team in an average Eastern Conference.

Though, even with Krejci, that could be the reality of their situation this season.

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