It’s really not an exaggeration to state that the Boston Bruins are at a Christmas crossroads as they enter the three-day holiday break mandated by the NHL.
The B’s went into the break with their season-worst fourth loss in a row after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at the Excel Energy Center. Things started off well enough with a David Pastrnak power play goal and a spirited Jakub Lauko bout in the opening couple of minutes, but the Bruins sank back into inconsistency in a second period where they were outshot 19-6 and barely had the puck.
Lauko Fight Club pic.twitter.com/GPuBD6GGym
— Marina Maher (@marinakmaher) December 24, 2023
It underscores some recent deficiencies for the Black and Gold that make one wonder if the Bruins are either regressing, or simply not elevating their game as other teams around the NHL are at the middle point of the season. They simply aren’t scoring enough to ever get comfortable even in games where they’re holding a lead, and there have been some real problems defensively even among their stalwart blueliners.
Charlie McAvoy is a team-worst minus-7 headed into the holiday break, and Hampus Lindholm is a minus-5 during the month of December while registering as a dash in five of the last six games. Both were a minus-2 in the horrendous loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Not-so-coincidentally the Bruins have lost five of their six games while limping into the holiday break.
“The inconsistency that we have right now with playing 60 minutes is concerning,” said Jim Montgomery to the NESN postgame show following the latest loss. “Right now, we’re not generating enough [Grade-A chances], but more importantly we’re not denying enough of them.”
Then there’s an offense that’s become way, way too one-dimensional while relying heavily on Pastrnak and Brad Marchand for goals. Pastrnak and Marchand have combined for 13 goals in the month of December, which is 52 percent of the overall offense this month for the Black and Gold. Compare that to the month of November when Marchand and Pastrnak had seven of 44 goals scored in 13 games, a robust average of 3.38 goals per game compared to the 2.5 goals per game that Boston is eking out this month.
Those are some troubling trends for a Bruins leadership group that sees trouble ahead if things don’t improve in the New Hockey Year.
“I think it’s just will and compete. That’s what it comes down to. It just seems like we’re losing a lot of battles that we should be winning and we’re not having that second effort when you watch the tape back,” said Marchand. “You see the second effort and compete level that other teams are having right now that are doing well and seeing success, we need to up it right now.
“[This holiday break] will give us a good opportunity to step away from the game and have some fun with our families, and to get our minds off the game. When things aren’t going your way, it’s sometimes good to get some escape and come back with a fresh mind and be excited about playing again. Hopefully we have that on the 27th.”
The good news is that the Bruins have already punched their playoff ticket with the masterful way they played in the first few months. And perhaps that ties into the recent swoon we’ve seen where there has been a clear drop-off in intensity and tenacity even as the Bruins have still managed to collect overtime and shootout points in some of these recent defeats.
But it’s clear after seeing this team at its worst that they are not the 14-1-3 hockey team that we saw in the first few months of the season. In sobering news, they are now 5-6-3 since that zenith to the early season.
The bad news is that some of these recent issues were what we expected to see from this set of Bruins personnel at the beginning of the season, and instead it’s cropping up as injuries, the NHL grind and perhaps a little complacency is creeping into their overall game with the regular season’s dog days just around the corner.
ONE-TIMERS
1. Great to see a couple of NHL stars using the final night before the NHL’s Christmas break to make it the first time in league history that two players scored on “The Michigan” lacrosse style goals in the same day. It was Connor Bedard first for the Blackhawks as he managed to wrap one inside defender Torey Krug before the ex-Bruins defenseman could stick check him. Then less than an hour later it was Trevor Zegras against a Kraken defense that stood and watched him make the play rather than provide anything in the way of opposition. Isolated incident or sign of things to come after the holiday break from a group of NHL players that get faster and more skilled every season? We shall see.
Connor Bedard putting a “Michigan” goal on his greatest hits reel for this season 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/9X1doqAi9A
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 24, 2023
2. Will be fascinating to watch the World Junior tournament with 19-year-old Matt Poitras playing center for Team Canada. After playing with Connor Geekie in the first tune-up, he was centering the second line against Team USA with arguably Canada’s most consistent and effective line throughout the overtime contest. It’s a little tough to gauge these first couple of games after the teenager was just off an international flight to Sweden from Boston to meet up with his team, but it sure looks and feels like he’s going to figure prominently into Canada’s forward plans. That’s as it should be and could bode really well for his level of play, and confidence, when he comes back to a Boston team that’s surely missed his puck possession since he’s left the team.
3. Some will decry 51-year-old Jaromir Jagr’s 36th pro hockey season commencing for Kladno in Czechia because it further prolongs the mulleted one’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s also ostensibly to keep attendance and interest up for the Czech hockey team that his father owns in his home area. But I think it’s awesome. These kinds of things used to happen a lot more a few generations ago, like when Gordie Howe played long enough to skate with his sons, and it’s a throwback to a different time when an older (slower!) once great legend could still keep up with the faster kids with all their skill tricks. He certainly can still make plays and it's also good to see somebody older than yours truly still out there getting it done as a player.
51-year-old Jaromir Jagr made his season debut today and picked up a primary assist 🔥🐐 pic.twitter.com/WNTc7d923F
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 20, 2023
4. Another scrap for Jakub Lauko against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, this time with Craig Duhaime right after Boston’s first goal of the game. The offense really hasn’t been there with just three assists in 23 games for the fourth line winger, but he’s so important to this team because of the physicality and reckless abandon that he consistently plays with every night. A few more goals for him under the Christmas tree once the NHL regular season resumes is an important element to round out his game as a key fourth line contributor.
5. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everybody out there reading these columns. I still feel the NHL is the best for taking a three-day holiday break around Christmas and the holiday roster freeze while the NBA and college football always play around the holiday season. It should be about family at this time of year, and it always is with the National Hockey League.