An up-and-down series against New Jersey solidifies need for more blue-line help for Boston

Two points is two points at the end of the day, but that didn't stop Bruce Cassidy from lamenting over what transpired in Boston's own zone during Tuesday's 5-4 shootout victory over the Devils. 

For the first time in a long time, Boston's even-strength offense managed to regularly land some punches against the opposition. Nick Ritchie's tally in the first period stood as the B's first 5v5 tally against the Devils in six games, while a revamped second line with Ritchie, David Krejci and Craig Smith seems to have hit its stride and supplement some of the offense lost with Patrice Bergeron's line in a quiet stretch.

But those gains made in the O-zone were stunted a bit by a poor showing down the other end of the ice — where unforced errors, lax execution and inexperience generating plenty of easy, Grade-A looks for New Jersey against Jaroslav Halak.

"Those are the guys we rely on for offense — they came through for us," Cassidy said of Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk. "But it was a real struggle for us at the other end. Our first touch tonight was probably as poor as it’s been all year. Led to some goals against. It’s nice when you can learn lessons when you get two points. We were able to outscore our mistakes tonight.”

As much as the seemingly never-ending pursuit of proven goal scorers and skilled wingers tend to dominate discussions when we approach the trade deadline, the need to acquire more stability (and offensive acumen) on the blue line should not be lost on the Bruins when it comes to assessing what areas of a roster might be in need of outside help.

Granted, dealing for blue-line help might seem like a pointless venture for a Bruins team that still ranks fourth in the NHL in goals against per game (2.34) — but even a small sample size of two games against the rebuilding Devils highlighted some of the warts present on a young, but inexperienced, B's D corps.

More poise needed

While the Bruins entered the 2021 season prepared to weather some of the self-inflicted miscues that rookies inevitably make while learning the ropes up in the NHL ranks, there stands a major difference between dealing with these developmental bumps in the road during a regular-season matchup in March — and in a heated playoff series against a physical, forechecking foe like the Capitals and Islanders.

We've hit on this many times before, but it bears repeating. Even though youngsters like Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril and others still have plenty of potential, you're carrying plenty of risk entering this postseason with green players thrust into such crucial, high-stakes roles. With the margin of error already razor-thin due to Boston's scoring woes, Boston simply can't afford to be put behind the eight-ball in the postseason off of rookie miscues.

As Cassidy noted, Boston's first touch with the puck was severely lacking throughout Tuesday's win, with Lauzon in particular having a night to forget after two gaffes directly led to a pair of 5v5 tallies for the Devils.

"If you’re going to go up the middle of the ice in the National Hockey League, you need to be clean,” Cassidy said. “You need to be on the tape. You need to be assertive. You need to be sure. Because, A., if you’re not clean, you’re going to get somebody hurt."

A misplaced breakout pass from Lauzon just 1:25 into regulation immediately snuffed out any moment Boston generated from a promising opening shift from Charlie Coyle's line, as the feed sailed up the slot, bounced off Patrice Bergeron and was promptly fed back in front to Miles Wood. Wood promptly snapped the offering home to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead out of the gate.