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The calendar year of 2014 was one of heavy extremes for the Boston Bruins. From their Presidents’ Trophy season, to their second-round exit, to their cap woes, and everything in between, the Bruins could use a proverbial fresh start. But not before a shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs -- in a game where the Bruins threw everything but the game-winning goal at Toronto in the final 25 minutes of play -- put the most fitting of ends to a 2014 that the Black and Gold are more than happy to put in the past.
“It wasn’t a good 2014. I’m happy it’s over,… B’s top-liner Milan Lucic, who returned to action after a one-game absence, admitted after the loss. “Not much good happened in 2014 for myself and for the team and just looking forward to 2015 and turning things around and hopefully it’ll be better than this year.…
In their 92nd and final game of the 2014 calendar year, the Bruins found themselves in an early 3-1 hole, with Toronto goals from Leo Komarov, James van Riemsdyk, and a power-play strike from Phil Kessel (just his third in 14 regular season games in Boston as a Maple Leaf).
Boston was in the game, though, with Carl Soderberg’s power-play goal just 17 seconds into the middle frame (before the Leafs struck with two of their own), but still, they weren’t truly “in it.…
Through 30 minutes of play, the Bruins had just 10 shots on net, and were paced for a tame 22-shot night through 40 minutes. Against a Maple Leafs squad that surrenders 35 shots plus on a routine basis, too.
The Bruins made the most of their chances in the second half of the third, though, striking with two goals on their final five shots on the first, the first coming from David Krejci (his fifth of the season) and the second from Torey Krug (the defenseman’s seventh of the season).
But even with a 13-to-2 shot advantage in the third period and overtime, the Bruins couldn’t sink a fourth by Jonathan Bernier, as Nazem Kadri’s shootout strike in the top of the fifth round coupled with Krejci’s miss in the bottom sealed the deal on a two-point night for the Leafs.
“We have to look at our start, which wasn’t very good,… said Claude Julien. “We dug ourselves a hole here and unfortunately we were able to get ourselves back to being tied after two. But this was an important game, probably would have liked our team to play better throughout the whole 60 minutes.…
Different night, same result. And that’s problematic for a Boston squad in need of a run.
“I think the time has passed,… Tuukka Rask said when asked about the timeframe for this team to get on track. “Every game is pretty much a must win now because you know, we are playing teams that are a couple points ahead of us. If we keep winning a game, then losing a couple, and then winning one, it’s not going to take us anywhere. We need to get some wins together and get our game in the shape we want it to be. Enough has been said and it’s time to show it. I don’t know what else to really say.
“You’re not going to be at your best every night, but our bread and butter has always been hard work and out battling teams, winning the races and stuff like that. That’s the way it has to be for us in order to get us going because when we try to be fancy it doesn’t work. I don’t know how many games we have left, but there no more excuses anymore. We just have to mentally prepare ourselves and go out there and do it.…
Rask is as frustrated as they come, especially in a game where he stopped a Phil Kessel penalty shot and even engaged in some post-period jawing with Bernier and David Clarkson, and he’s not alone.
“It has to happen. It has to happen if we want to get ourselves back in the picture and it has to happen if we want to be where we want to be at the end of the year, and it’s up to us to make it happen,… Lucic said of the club’s need for a winning streak. “No one’s going to do it for us. No one feels sorry for us and we shouldn’t be feeling sorry for ourselves, so it’s up to us to bear down and start putting, like you said, a winning streak together and like I said, 2014 is done. Turn that page and start fresh for 2015.…
In a year of highs and lows, I don’t think a shootout loss against Toronto is one that is cause for a straight-up meltdown that wipes out the positives you happily took from the Bruins’ effort against Detroit this past Monday, but again, it’s consistency that’s killing this team. They simply don’t have an ounce of consistency to their game. (Unless you wanna call them consistency inconsistent.) Skating off with just one point after that late-game surge is a bitter pill to swallow, no doubt, but the Bruins did plenty well in their effort, too.
Namely holding the Maple Leaf offense to just two shots in the third period, and zero in overtime.
“When we play desperate, then we’re a good hockey team. In the past we’ve been able to play that way for a whole game and right now it just seems like we can’t, we have to wait until we get behind by a couple to really get that desperation in our game and everyone to buy into the system,… said winger Brad Marchand.
“We got to be happy with how we played the second half of the game,… Marchand continued. “You win and lose games in a short span of a game. A couple lapses there and, I mean, they get up by a couple goals and we have to battle back the rest of the game so the key is to not give up those lapses and not get behind by a couple. If we play the way we did the second half then we’re going to be a good team.…
They’re beyond the point of moral victories, though. About two months beyond it.
With a point, however, the Bruins move within one point of the Washington Capitals for the second wild card spot, and trail the Maple Leafs by just three for the first wild card spot.
Random thoughts
- It seems like everybody’s waiting for the shoe to drop on a trade to bolster the B’s roster.
It’s clear that the Bruins need to make an upgrade to their top-line right wing -- a spot currently held down by a revolving door of Seth Griffith, Craig Cunningham, or anybody in the crowd wearing an authentic jersey -- and that they’ll have to move an asset or two to make that upgrade. They’ve been linked to Chris Stewart, T.J. Oshie, and now (perhaps) Jaromir Jagr, and it’s simply become a matter of when, not if, for most of the Hub. But Lucic, who would likely benefit the most from any trade the Bruins make, doesn’t think that the team should be focused on that.
“You can’t wait for that. You can’t. I mean, I don’t think guys are,… Lucic said of the team potentially waiting for a trade to bring in some help. “I hope that guys aren’t. I hope that we’re not waiting around for some savior to come in and help this team be the team that it should be because it hasn’t happened in the past.…
These guys are human, and I think it’s natural to expect help to come in at some point (especially when your general manager openly tells the media that he’ll likely have to move assets obtained in the Johnny Boychuk trade to address any areas of concern), and I think that’s what the Bruins are dealing with.
But Lucic is bang on. There’s more than enough experience in that locker room to rally past that.
- Forward Jordan Caron has been called everything throughout his tenure as a Boston Bruin. And not much of it has been kind. Drafted in the first round back in 2009 (25th overall), the 24-year-old returned to Boston earlier this week with yet another call up from Providence, and logged an efficient 11:52 of time on ice in 17 shifts in the Black and Gold’s 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. He wasn’t credited for more than a shot on the night, but he played exactly how you’d like him to. He was strong with the puck, and made some smart plays in all three zones. And then one game later he’s back in the press box as a healthy scratch.
Caron’s in a tough position here, and there’s no way he’ll ever sell most of this fanbase on his worth as a bottom-six energy winger based on his draft positioning, but he certainly played well enough to warrant another look at that fourth-line wing with Gregory Campbell and Danny Paille.
Coincidentally (but probably not), that fourth line, with Craig Cunningham skating in Caron’s place, got their doors blown off tonight, and were frequently hemmed in their own end for prolonged stretches. This isn’t to say that Caron is the savior for the oft-criticized fourth line, ‘cause he’s probably not, but when he puts forth an effort like he did on Monday night, don’t you think he’s deserving of another chance?
- Naturally, Matt Fraser scored a power-play goal for the Edmonton Oilers tonight. Fraser played a grand total of one minute and 31 seconds on the power play for the Bruins this season. Among those with more total power play time on ice-- Campbell, Paille, and Dennis Seidenberg. Ouch.
- Sounds like forward Matt Lindblad and defenseman Zach Trotman are heading back down to the Providence Bruins. Lindblad served as one of the B's centers in Bergeron's absence on Monday night before sitting out on Wednesday night as a healthy scratch, while Trotman had been a scratch for six straight contests. The transaction leaves the Bruins with just six defensemen on the roster, which could mean that Adam McQuaid, now cast-free, could be set to return from his broken thumb in the near future. The 28-year-old McQuaid, skating with the club for almost a full work week now, has been out of the lineup since mid-November, and was originally slated to miss six-to-eight weeks of action.
- Two completely useless stats for you-- The Bruins are now 1-2-1 in New Year’s Eve games under Claude Julien, with their only win coming back on 2007 (against the Thrashers), and they’ve lost three straight (2011, 2013, and 2014). They’re also 4-1-3 this season when wearing their third jerseys. For your health.
Up next
The Bruins return to Garden ice for a Saturday matinee against the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa took the last meeting between the two, sinking the Bruins in a shootout back on Dec. 13. The Bruins are 1-0-1 against Ottawa this season, and this will be the third of five meetings against the Sens in 2014-15, and the final one in Boston.
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