My, how things have changed in Boston over the past two weeks. The once mighty Bruins, who came back to the Hub after a perfect 6-0-0 road swing only to hammer the Bolts 2-1 to make it seven straight, are mired in a four-game losing streak. However, it's not the skid itself that's beginning to make fans worried--but rather the fashion in which these games have become lost causes for the Bruins.
Dropping four straight to Conference opponents with losses coming against the Penguins, Canadiens, Sabres, and the Islanders, is this simply a slump for the barely-division-leading Bruins or is this the beginning of their fall?
Starting their slide out with a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on home ice, it was an
Evgeni Malkin and
Sidney Crosby-less Penguins team that simply took it to the Bruins for 60-plus minutes. Out-shooting (a theme to watch) Boston 39-to-31, if not for an improbable
David Krejci goal in the waning moments of the third, the Bruins would have simply skated off with zero points to show for their lack of an effort.
But when the team stumbled against the Habs in what was undoubtedly their most important game of the season, concerns developed as the Bruins were simply outworked once again. Those concerns were magnified in an overtime loss to the shorthanded Sabres where it was more of the same, and these frustrations appeared to hit their boiling point with Friday night's loss to the New York Islanders.
To put it blunt, the Bruins simply don't appear to want it. There's no will to win, no fight, and no notable passion in their play. Appearing lifeless at times, the numbers tell much of the story upon first (and second) glance.
Collectively, the Bruins have been out-shot to the tune of 151 to 119 over this stretch, and have allowed more than 35 shots in three of these four games. For you math-savvy folk, that's an average of 37.75 shots-against per game compared to a mild 29.75 for.
Now, not only is this horrendous for a team that's based on its stingy defense anchored by shot-blocking machines such as
Adam McQuaid and
Dennis Seidenberg, it's certainly put the strain on a noticeably gassed 36-year-old
Tim Thomas.
Thomas, who started his 48th game of the season on Friday, has stopped 115-of-125 in his last three starts (good for a .920 save-percentage) but has taken the loss in all three outings. Compare this to Thomas' 25-3-4 record in 2010-11 when registering a .920 save-percentage or better in a game.
However, these struggles go beyond an overworked goaltender doing his best to stand on his head while he plays behind a sluggish-looking defense.
In the special teams department, the power-play struggles in Boston continue even with the addition of
Tomas Kaberle. The prematurely anointed savior of the B's power-play tallied his first man-advantage assist with the Chara's 5-on-3 tally in the second period on Friday. Giving Kaberle just his second point in 10 games with the Bruins, the 32-year-old Czech puck-mover has provided the looks, but with limited results.
As a whole, the B's power-play has gone just 1-for-11, with the lone goal coming on Boston's aforementioned 5-on-3 against the Isles. Anything but comforting. And on the other end of the spectrum, the penalty-kill has been anything but reassuring as of late for the Bruins.
With opponents going 5-for-17 against the Bruins' penalty-kill during this stretch, good for a 29.4 conversion percentage, there seems to be a malfunction in every area of Boston's play during this skid, including some zeros across the boards from noted scorers. Catalysts of the offense and two-way game in the Hub, things have gone sour for both
Patrice Bergeron and
Brad Marchand, who've combined for zero points and a minus-4 rating during the B's four-game losing streak.
Others notable players with zero goals over this stretch include
Chris Kelly,
Rich Peverley, and
Michael Ryder. Consider this--the Bruins' top line of featuring
Nathan Horton,
David Krejci, and
Milan Lucic have scored four of Boston's eight goals over this stretch. How's that for confidence in your secondary scoring? Yikes.
Now, as we sit here and bemoan over what hasn't gone right for the Bruins and wonder if this is a team that isn't built for a deep playoff run even after what was deemed the right moves, is this all much ado about nothing? After all, it was just last year that the eventual Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks put together a frustrating month of march where they went 6-7-2 behind a three-game losing streak that included a 16-to-7 goal differential against them over the streak.
But this isn't the Chicago Blackhawks of a year ago. This is a team that has displayed an ability to hang with the East's elite, holding a combined 9-4-2 against the top five teams in the East, but can't seem to bury the seemingly inferior teams of their conference.
Sporting a 4-6-2 record against the six through eight seeds of the East (Buffalo, Montreal, and the Rangers), the Garden Faithful have wasted no time in finding reasons to be worried that the B's are lining themselves up as a one-and-done failure.
How do the B's remedy their issues? Or better yet, can they? I'm no salesman, but it's not crazy to suggest that the play on the ice will do all the selling fans need as their Cup-dreaming eyes gear up for April.
LISTEN TO MY APPEARANCE ON THE 'UP THE PUCKS' PODCAST
Last week I was lucky enough to star as a guest-host on the 'Up the Pucks' podcast, a terrifically run show by Brandon and Peter. We touched on a variety of topics including the Chara hit, the situations in Phoenix and other NHL growth-stunned cities and one of my favorite off-ice topics of discussion--punk rock music.
I want to personally thank Brandon and Peter for having me on their 'cast and I hope you all enjoy listening.
Listen Here!
Check it out and be sure to check out their podcasts!
Follow me on Twitter, shoot me an email at [email protected], or become Facebook friends with the HockeyBuzz Bruins profile for links, interactions, and updates. 
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
Join the Discussion:
»