If you’re still looking to figure out exactly what’s gone on with the Bruins since they returned from the All-Star break, join the club, pal.

It’s entirely possible that the Bruins are simply stuck in the dog days of the NHL calendar. Boston’s pre-break run put them in a great position when it comes to qualifying for the 2024 playoffs. And barring something that would make 2015 and 2016 look like heaven, the Bruins will indeed make the playoffs, and likely with home-ice advantage in the first round (at the very least).

If complacency has set in, especially with some of Boston’s top talents who are very much aware of their status within the team, that’d hardly be a surprise.

But it’s also possible that the Bruins are simply running out of gas. Given the way that Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has leaned on those top talents this year, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Black and Gold are beginning to see diminishing returns from players who simply need a breather. Up front, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie Coyle are all top 50 among forwards in terms of total time on ice this season. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm’s usage was straight-up bananas, and he’s out of the lineup with a week-to-week injury designation now, which is only going to up the workload on players such as Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and even Matt Grzelcyk.

Still, it could be a lot worse, all things considered. Despite not playing their best since returning to action, the Bruins have still broken even, with 11 of a possible 22 points banked away by way of a 3-3-5 record.

Here are five thoughts on where the B’s are right now...

Blown leads becoming massive issue

If there’s one thing to hate about Boston’s recent four-game trip out West, it’s that they held a lead after two periods of play in three of the four games, and in all three of those games, they blew that lead in the third period and went to overtime. Now, the Bruins escaped with a win in the Edmonton game, but this trend has become a glaring and ugly one for this year’s Bruins.

Speaking after the latest blown third-period lead, Montgomery called it a ‘killer instinct’ issue. Now, there’s something to be said for that. The Bruins simply aren’t getting those early, third-period putaway goals at the same frequency they were a year ago. And Saturday’s overtime loss to the Canucks saw the Bruins go into a defensive shell with way too much time remaining in the third period, and it naturally bit them in the ass once the Canucks got that first goal. After that, you knew the game-tying goal was coming, and then Boston’s overtime penalty opened the door to a happy crowd in Vancouver. Relying on your goaltenders for an entire third period — especially when the other team and making their push — is always a dangerous game. But it’s especially dangerous this time of year.

And this is going to remain an issue for the Bruins until they prove otherwise. Leading after two periods on 33 occasions this season, the Bruins have skated off a loser eight times. That’s the 28th-worst winning percentage in the NHL on that front this season. Closing out games is a calling card of any true Cup contender.

Forbort’s struggles continue, this time off the ice

The Black and Gold’s defensive rotation continued on Monday night, this time with Derek Forbort taking a seat. To some, this was almost overdue given his struggles. But this wasn’t necessarily by design, but rather the result of some in-house punishment handed out by the B’s after Forbort missed a team meeting.

Listen, there’s no way around saying it: The 6-foot-3 Forbort has struggled (and struggled hard) since returning to the B’s lineup last month.

Since his return to the Boston lineup back on Jan. 20, Forbort has been on the ice for 17 goals against in just 236 minutes of action. Entering Monday against Seattle, his 17 on-ice goals against were the second-most among all Boston skaters, trailing only Charlie McAvoy and Charlie Coyle (both of whom have 18 on-ice goals against), but it was worth noting that Forbort had played 44 fewer minutes than Coyle and a staggering 149 fewer minutes than McAvoy.

Boston’s penalty kill has also been in the tank since Forbort’s return, with a 69.8 percent success rate (30th in the NHL). The B’s penalty kill ranked 17th in the NHL (78.9 percent) during Forbort’s 20-game absence from the Black and Gold’s lineup from early December through mid-January.

Now comes seeing if Forbort’s stint in the doghouse extends beyond Monday.

The Swayman-Ullmark debate rages on

Some chatter from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has people wondering if B’s general manager Don Sweeney, who is short on assets, will move goaltender Linus Ullmark before the Mar. 8 trade deadline. Now, I’m no Friedman, but do I think the Bruins trade Ullmark (or any goalie for that matter) by the deadline? No, no I do not.

While it’s largely been a great year from Jeremy Swayman, I think it’s fair to say that Swayman has not been particularly sharp since the B’s returned from their bye week and All-Star break. Namely when it comes to timely saves. I just think, for the Bruins to make that move, they’d need to be in love with what Swayman has done this season. I’m just not sure that they’re there yet.

I can also tell you that the Bruins drove a hard bargain on Ullmark when his name came up in trade talks last summer. The Bruins held firm on that asking price (everybody was eager to rip ‘em off given their cap issues and Sweeney refused to bend), I was told, and Ullmark’s no-trade clause was also an issue.

And ‘ya know what, this team should try the goalie rotation in the playoffs after seeing what happened last season when they abandoned it.

Mason Lohrei remains intriguing name to watch

This is now true first-year pro Mason Lohrei’s third run with the NHL club this year, and I gotta say, every time he’s come up, he’s looked a little better than the last time we saw him. There’s still some obvious area for improvement, particularly in the defensive zone, but it finally feels like Lohrei is getting comfortable as a pro.

This could be a definite game changer down the stretch for the Bruins, especially if Forbort continues to struggle, and if talents like Matt Grzelcyk and Kevin Shattenkirk struggle to play a consistent game.

It also ‘helps’ that the Bruins are starved for more offensive production from the blue line beyond Charlie McAvoy.

Jake DeBrusk uncertainty is getting unnerving

What exactly are the Bruins going to do with Jake DeBrusk?

DeBrusk has made it known that he would like to get an extension done, but here we are, a week and change away from the 2024 NHL trade deadline, and DeBrusk remains without an extension in place. That is… unnerving.

Listen, if DeBrusk is not long for Boston, the Bruins should absolutely take some calls on him and see if there’s a team out there willing to make a hockey trade or part with a high-end pick or prospect to bring him to town. This is where the Jake Guentzel sweeps intrigue me. If Guentzel goes for a haul, teams that miss out on him could look at DeBrusk as their next-best bet, and that could work out to the B’s advantage when it comes to replenishing their asset cupboard.

Ultimately, I do think the best play for the Bruins and DeBrusk involves No. 74 signing an extension with the club, but the price point remains an interesting debate, as well as whether or not he fits into the club’s long-term plans given some of their other areas of need (top-four left-shot D, top-six center, and more).

Join the Discussion: » 32 Comments » Post New Comment

» Plenty of second-guessing after Game 5 loss

» Bruins could get two lineup boosts for Game 5

» Bruins take 3-1 series lead with Game 4 win

» Marchand takes center stage; Time to stick with Sway?

» Leafs tie series while B's suffer massive loss on D