After cruising to a 9-1-2 start in the month of October, November has brought some adversity to the Bruins locker room. With injuries piling up, and losses in three straight, where do the Bruins go from here?

“Lets get after it today, get in that mindset that we’re going to get our work done in a hurry so that tomorrow in the first period we have that same mindset,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said following Monday’s intense practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “Let’s get our work done in a hurry, get our rest and then play from there. I think we needed to be more competitive [Sunday night], so we brought it today.”

Sunday night provided the Bruins with a perfect opportunity to snap their losing streak at two, and get back in the win column against a Flyers team that played the night before in Toronto.

But as has been the case in their last few games, the Bruins failed to show up on time, something that has been a focal point of the Cassidy regime.

“I don’t think we had enough urgency, would be the simple answer,” Cassidy said following Sunday’s shootout loss to the Flyers in regards to another poor start. “We weren’t breaking
pucks out, got stuck below our goal line. “We never got an opportunity to sort of put them on their heels, in any way, shape or form.”

Through Sunday’s first two periods the Bruins found themselves with just 10 shots and trailing 2-0. The Bruins found their legs and some energy in the third period to even the game at two, before failing to score in the shootout.

Teams always preach 60-minute efforts, putting forth ones are always easier said than done. For the season’s first month, the Bruins were getting 60-minute—or close to—efforts on a consistent basis.

They need to get back to that type of effort.

“We’ve gotten away from what we do best and it’s cost us a bit. There are times in games when we’re doing the right things, but I think we’re getting away from it whether it’s early on, or at some point in the game,” said forward Charlie Coyle.

“When you do that in this league, you’re going to get beat up. So we need to make sure we play the right way. When we do that, we put ourselves in great position and it’s hard for other teams.”

The little things haven’t been there for the Bruins, putting themselves in holes that have been too difficult to climb out of. Mustering just five shots in each of the first two periods as they did Sunday night won’t provide fruitful results on a consistent basis.

The Bruins need to be better in a lot of areas right now, on-time starts being one of them.

“At the end of the day, we need to be on time. That’s when we’re at our best,” added Cassidy.”I think they understand that, and I think every team would like that, so we’ll keep hammering away on that.”

Once the Bruins can check off the starting on time box, cleaning up the sloppiness is the next box to be checked off.

“Way too many sloppy plays and turning back rather than moving [the puck] forward. When you do that everybody is kind of guessing on the ice and nobody is really on the same page. Then they take it to you. I think that’s what we saw in the first half of the game,” said forward Patrice Bergeron.

“A little bit better [in the second] and much better in the third. You talk about playing for 60 [minutes] and if we did that tonight I would have liked our chances.”

Part of the issues the Bruins have had on the ice in the last week has been due to who has, and who hasn’t been on the ice as injuries continue to be an issue.

While Joakim Nordstrom and Par Lindholm have returned, Jake DeBrusk, Brett Ritchie and David Backes remain out of the lineup.

And after leaving Sunday’s contest with an upper-body injury, the Bruins will be without Torey Krug for at least Tuesday’s contest against the Panthers.

“He’s upper-body, ruled out for tomorrow. We will reevaluate as the week goes on,” Cassidy said of Krug’s status. Not taking him out of the equation for the weekend. He was here, but again, until I get more, I’ve got nothing for you.”

With Krug out for Tuesday, the Bruins recalled 20-year old Urho Vaakanainen from Providence. Vaakanainen—who played in two game for the Bruins last season—has gotten off to a solid start with the Baby B’s and could get the nod to replace Krug Tuesday night.

"I've been defending well, skating well, found the flow in my game. It's been a good two, three weeks, playing well. I feel good right now," said Vaakanainen.

As for DeBrusk and Backes, well, still nothing set in stone as of Monday

“Jake kind of the same, lower-body. We didn’t know how long at first, now it’s kind of stretching out a little bit,” said Cassidy. For Backes, Cassidy said the veteran is feeling better, but until he gets on the ice it’s hard to target a return date.

Starting on time and cleaning up the play on the ice will go a long way in helping the Bruins survive the rash of injuries.

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