By this time next week, the Bruins will be exactly half way through their 2020-21 season. With how tight the playoff picture in the division is, the Bruins could be in first place just as easily as they could be in fifth, outside of the playoff bubble.
If the Bruins plan on the former instead of the latter, they’re going to have to be much better five-on-five.
“Clearly we’ve played well defensively in the last five games or such, we just haven’t finished,… general manager Don Sweeney said Wednesday. “Five-on-five is just not where it needs to be to consistently win or extend leads if you do get them. I think it’s a major concern for us.…
Through 23 games, the Bruins have 39 five-on-five goals, only better than the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres. None of those four teams are currently in a playoff spot.
Tuesday’s shootout loss to the New York Islanders was another example of the Bruins scoring issues being front and center.
With the Bruins finally putting forth a solid effort against an Islanders team that they have not been able to beat this season, it still wasn’t enough as other than David Pastrnak’s power play goal, they couldn’t get any rubber past goalie Semyon Varlamov.
It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort or chances.
"I thought we were the better team, didn't have much luck around the net. Certainly, they had a few opportunities, I liked our team's effort from start to finish. It was a pretty tight third period,… said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
“We kept ourselves in the game, had a few opportunities to win it in overtime and didn't. As a coach, you're never displeased when your team goes out and plays a strong, structured hockey game. We just couldn't finish enough plays - or one more play, I guess."
Not being able to finish enough plays has been a common theme with the Bruins this season and a concerning one at that.
Of the Bruins 39 five-on-five goals, 18 have come from Brad Marchand, (7) David Pastrnak (7) and Patrice Bergeron (4). While seeing Nick Ritchie, Trent Frederic and Craig Smith all with three five-on-five goals each is nice, seeing zero five-on-five goals from David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is very alarming.
DeBrusk was a healthy scratch in Long Island on Tuesday, an effort made to hopefully help the 24-year old break out his slump, and find a path to offensive success.
“Clearly we understand Jake’s not where he needs to be,… Sweeney said. “He recognizes that, takes ownership of it. We have to do everything we possibly can to put him in a situation that he can work his way out of it. Work is a big part of that.…
The hope for Sweeney and company was that Krejci, DeBrusk and Ondrej Kase would mesh together to give the Bruins a dangerous scoring line behind the Bergeron line. A line that would give the Bruins the type of secondary scoring they’ve been searching for for several seasons now.
But Kase has been out of the lineup since leaving in the first period of the Bruins second game of the season on Jan. 16 with an upper-body injury.
“You might have drawn it up that Krejci, Kase and DeBrusk would have played sometime together and at this stage probably would have had more than—we have speculated, more than zero even strength goals,… said Sweeney. “It’s a problem throughout your lineup.…
Sweeney understands that while the Bruins may have the talent inside the dressing room to win a Stanley Cup, for whatever reason it’s not coming together to create an on-ice product that can.
Everything Sweeney, Cassidy and the coaching staff have done to date has failed to yield fruitful results. Players in and out of the lineup, different power play units and players moving up and down the line have looked good on paper, but have not been able to solve the Bruins scoring woes.
So now, what does that mean for Sweeney?
“We’ve got Providence, who’s playing again this afternoon, and some guys that have played well,… Sweeney said. “If we have to shake things up, I think we will do that."
While a player such as Zach Senyshyn has played very well for Providence to date, it’s hard to see him jumping into the mix and magically solving the Bruins scoring woes. As a former first round pick made by Sweeney, if Senyshyn is going to come in and be impactful, it would have have happened by now.
“Understand the expectations haven’t changed. Our group has played well, but not quite good enough. Scoring has been the Achilles heel up until this point,… said Sweeney. “Hopefully we can find it from within. Or I’m going to have to make a move to bring in support.…
Bringing in help from outside of the organization won’t be an easy task—it never is. But now, in a shortened season and one that saw not a single dollar of salary cap increase from the previous season, trading is more difficult than ever.
Oh, and let’s not forget that with quarantining still being a thing and the Seattle expansion draft rapidly approaching, teams are not quite chomping at the bit to get a deal done, even the ones that know a piece or two could be what it takes to help them win a Stanley Cup.
"I think it’s unique. I think everybody’s going to evaluate where their team is at for the next really two weeks. I think there’s a lot of variables in play,… Sweeney said of the challenges facing this year’s trade deadline.
“Your team usually dictates what you should try and do. Ours will probably indicate what direction we’d like. We certainly have areas we’d like to explore to add. But it’s been challenging. I think things will loosen up because there’ll be some teams that will identify themselves as not necessarily in the position they want to be.…
The Bruins play of late id certainly dictating what Sweeney should try and do. But what exactly it is Sweeney will be able to do to improve this team remains to be seen.
Whether it’s internally from players such as DeBrusk and Krejci, or externally via trade, the Bruins are in need of scoring help—immediate help.