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Here is a sizzling hot take for you: An 18-shot third period for is a great way to win a game when you’re down by two. And an 18-shot third period against is a great way to lose a hockey game when you’re up by two. And while you expected the pushback from the trailing club, in this case the Minnesota Wild, a two-goal edge should be safe if you’re the Boston Bruins. Heck, any third period lead should be safe if you’re the Bruins. The Black and Gold entered the third of Tuesday’s game a perfect 4-0-0 this year when leading after two periods of play, and a dynamite 121-8-8 in that regard since the start of the 2010-11 season.
But a three-goal third from the Wild exposed an absolutely porous Boston defense (Justin Fontaine’s game-tying marker led to Claude Julien benching the nightmarish Matt Bartkowski). And things aren’t exactly improving (not even close to, in fact) for a brutally battered Boston defensive corp that’ll now skate without prized puck-mover Torey Krug (broken finger) for the next two to three weeks.
To recap-- in just two weeks, the B’s have lost Kevan Miller (out indefinitely with a shoulder injury), Zdeno Chara (projected to miss 4-6 weeks with a tear in his PCL), and now Krug.
The Black and Gold, at 5-6-0 and fifth in the Atlantic despite playing the most games, are a mess.
“The way mistakes happen for us sometimes it’s kind of unacceptable and we really have to be better in front of our net,… Tuukka Rask, who faced 42 Minnesota shots, said after Tuesday’s loss. “Way too many goals lately have been scored right there and we talked about it but it’s just not good enough right now. 40 shots, I’m not too worried about that, but just the style we give them up, it’s pretty bad sometimes.…
Too frequently in 2014-15, and especially on home ice, have the Bruins’ defensemen have been outmuscled, outworked, and straight-up bullied around their own zone. That’s a problem. And they’re having an undeniably difficult time going toe-to-toe with teams along the walls without a Chara and a Miller. That’s a big problem given this team’s reputation as one you have to ‘match’ physically. Their breakout has been a mess (and that’s being kind, I think) if your name isn’t Dougie Hamilton. That’s no good.
They also sport a third pairing that you, well, can’t play in Bartkowski and Zach Trotman.
“Couple goals against,… said Julien when asked about the pairing’s play against the Wild. “Our whole team didn’t play well, so I’m certainly not going to start picking on them.… (Again, Bartkowski’s skates didn’t touch the ice after Minnesota’s third goal of the night. That’s basically the same as silently picking on him.) But even if Julien did opt to pick on Bartkowski, he wouldn’t be wrong.
Like we’ve talked about all summer, Bartkowski was a true hit-or-miss talent in 2013-14.
He was asked to fulfill some huge shoes in the absence of Dennis Seidenberg, and obviously faltered. But when the Bruins opted to move Johnny Boychuk out of town because of Bartkowski’s progression throughout camp (and his friendlier $1.25 million cap-hit), the expectations for the Pennsylvania-born defender to, y’know, be a solid contributor were obviously there. But he’s been anything but this year. He’s undoubtedly taken a major step back in terms of his own progression (especially in his own end), and it’s killing the B’s.
They really don’t have any options, though.
With three injuries to their point, the Bruins have once again called up defenseman Joe Morrow, and also extended the call up to 5-foot-9 puck mover David Warsofsky. Both of these guys make their money in the attacking zone, you’d say, and really won’t be Julien’s go-to guys when the Bruins find themselves on the penalty kill (Boston’s taken 44 minors through 11 games, the sixth most in the NHL).
So, it’s Bartkowski. For now.
You put the emphasis on ‘for now’, because you know it’s only a matter of time before Peter Chiarelli and Cam Neely realize that this team cannot continue to take on water and drop games by way of their own-zone implosions. The season’s long, no doubt, but by this time next month you’ll have an idea as to who’s in it and who’s not. And as of right now, the Bruins do not look like a team that can hang with the Atlantic’s best over the course of a seven-game series (think Tampa Bay, Montreal, or even a healthy Detroit).
And this is where understanding your needs versus making a panic decision collide.
The Bruins need another top-four defenseman. That’s with a healthy Chara, I think, too. The Boychuk trade basically put them in the same position they were in without Seidenberg last season, and (as you’re seeing), a couple of dings here and there and your idea of depth is utterly demolished.
Out in Glendale, the Coyotes’ Zbynek Michalek is an interesting option.
In the final year of a deal that comes with a $4 million cap-hit, the 31-year-old minute-eater is presumably what the Bruins would like on their middle pairing, and his familiarity with the East (Michalek had a two-year stint with Pittsburgh in between his primarily Arizona-based NHL career) makes the idea of plugging him in an easier adventure. But with that kind of price tag, resume, and given the league-wide need for defensemen, Michalek is not a player you can scoop up for a Bartkowki, Jordan Caron, and Ryan Spooner package like everybody designs when entering this realm of hypotheticals.
(But even so, I still think the preference for the Bruins in any trade involving the Arizona Coyotes would be to acquire Keith Yandle, but you know…prices.. market value.. not a fit.. etc, etc.)
Elsewhere, people have mentioned the idea of Andrej Sekera out of Carolina, or maybe through the free agent market like a Henrik Tallinder, Massachusetts’ own Ryan Whitney (though he recently signed in the KHL), or old friend, the 6-foot-7 Hal Gill. (Yes, you read that right.)
There’s no doubt that the Bruins are helpless in the now.
But if and when the front office -- the one that got them in this horrific cap mess in the first place (the second time they’ve been in ‘cap hell’ since 2009, mind you) -- summons a call to somebody (anybody!) for help will give us an idea of this club’s ability to identity their own problems with the same swift, allegedly-well-thought-out rationale they’ve used for shipping countless talents out of town year after year.
Bruins back in Buffalo
Hey, here's a pick-me-up: the Bruins are back in Buffalo tonight for a Thursday night battle with the absolutely awful Sabres. Buffalo, now 2-8-0 this year, put just 10 shots on net in their Tuesday night loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. 10 shots! The Leafs! You get it.
In net, the Bruins will give the start to Niklas Svedberg. Svedberg enters tonight's game with the league's best save percentage (small sample size though) at .951, and took a loss despite a 35-save effort in his last start, a 4-3 loss to the Islanders a week ago. This will be the 25-year-old Svedberg's second start of the year against Buffalo. He stopped all 32 shots thrown his way in his last start at First Niagara Center, headlined by a 16-save first period.
Buffalo counters with Jhonas Enroth. A loser in three straight, the undersized Swede has actually put forth some strong efforts during the losing streak, including a 34-of-35 night against the Florida Panthers and 37-of-39 effort against Los Angeles, but has been victim of a Sabres' offense that is offensive in just one way. (As in they're absolutely awful.)
Unfortunately for Enroth, things won't get any easier, as he comes into this one with just one win and an .891 save percentage in nine career games against the Black and Gold.
And as somebody that's willfully (I don't know why I do these things to myself) watched a few of the 2014-15 Sabres, you gotta wonder how long it takes before the players just completely check out and demand out (if they haven't already). Eyes on the prize at the end of the line (a McDavid or an Eichel), sure, but my goodness, a hockey city like Buffalo deserves better.
One of David Warsofsky or Joe Morrow will make their season debut tonight in place of the injured Krug, too. Morrow, a former first-round pick, has not suited up for an NHL game yet in his career, but has recorded seven goals and 31 points in 61 games for the Providence Bruins since the start of the 2013-14 season. Warsofsky has one goal and one assist in six NHL games.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com