Plenty of concerns as Bruins lose again
Focus turns to rematch with ‘Canes
Tuukka Rask is not one to worry, or at least show it. And after the Bruins’ lost their third straight game in round-robin play to bump the Presidents’ Trophy-winning B’s down to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, the goaltender stayed true to form.
“These first round-robin games or whatever they are, you’re just trying to shake the rust off and get your team game in a place you want it to be. We improved over these three games,” said Rask after the B’s dropped their last seeding competition game, 2-1, to the Washington Capitals on Sunday. “Obviously we worked very hard for our goal. We just don’t seem to get rewarded. I’m sure that’s going to come if we just keep plugging away. But I don’t think it matters what seed you’re in, you have to beat every team anyways if you want to advance, so we’re feeling good. It’s over now, and we can start real hockey.”
But if you want to worry about your Bruins, you go right ahead. They’ve given enough ammunition for some well-founded fretting.
In the three round-robin games and one exhibition tilt against Columbus, they scored just four goals. Not only did they lose all three games, they never led in any of the games. Not once.
The top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak were held off the scoresheet in the round robin, save for Bergeron’s one assist on Charlie McAvoy’s goal against Tampa. In Sunday’s loss to the Caps, they did have a little more going. Marchand handled the puck a little more and they combined for 11 of the Bruins’ 31 shots, six from Pastrnak.
Still, the unit is continuing to force some plays that just aren’t there. One case in point was in the final minute with Rask pulled for the extra skater and the B’s trying to tie it, Pastrnak made an ill-advised soft backhand pass attempt in the high slot that was easily thwarted by the Caps, who cleared the puck out of danger.
The B’s simply cannot afford to get zero production from their top unit and expect to win a series against anyone, which includes their first round opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Coach Bruce Cassidy has seen enough from his top combo to believe they’ll be ready.
“They’ve been held off the scoresheet. And I believe it’s going to be a tough task for Carolina to do that on a consistent basis,” said Cassidy. “I think those guys will be able to get their game going. But we’re going to need the primary scoring. Maybe some of that will come to life on the power play.”
But the B’s vaunted man-advantage has yet to find the back of the net. It went 0-for-9 in round-robin play, including 0-for-2 on Sunday, though the first unit did get some decent chances on the second opportunity.
David Krejci, whose line got on the board with Jake DeBrusk’s goal, said in general there needs to be more urgency around the net. Perhaps that will fix itself when the playoffs start.
“This round robin, it’s kind of like playoff hockey, but it’s not the same,” said Krejci. “It’s just not the same.”
There are concerns on the back end, too. The B’s twin towers of reliability in the regular season, Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo, did not have good round-robin performances. In Sunday’s loss, the B’s had played a good first period but it was wiped out when T.J. Oshie scored with 16 seconds left. Chara had controlled the rebound off Rask, but he didn’t clear it quickly enough and Oshie pushed it off his stick and into the empty net. Meanwhile, Carlo’s decisionmaking with the puck has been off and he took his second stick infraction minor in three games.
With no tuneups left, the B’s still have some cleaning up to do.
To be fair, the B’s did get better with each game, which was part of their stated goal before the roundrobin began, more than securing any particular seeding. Yet other teams managed to be ready at the first drop of the puck and it’s hard not to feel like the B’s are behind those teams.
One of those teams is their next opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, who easily swept the Rangers in their play-in series. It will be a rematch of the 2019 Eastern Conference Final in which the B’s swept the young ‘Canes. But now Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen are a year-plus older, with a humbling experience under their belts. Andrei Svechnikov appears to be blossoming into stardom. The Canes also don’t have to be concerned about a raucous Boston crowd that seemed to unnerve them in the first two games of last year’s series. Redemption can be a powerful motivational tool.
So it’s great that the B’s have confidence in themselves. They’ve earned that confidence. Maybe they can flip that switch and get into playoff mode.
But it’s usually not that easy.