The predictable formula is playing out the same in every single game right now for a Boston Bruins team that’s pretty short on roster depth and talent after the NHL trade deadline.
The Black and Gold are getting off to pretty decent, high-energy start against their competition and their top line of Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak is able to provide occasional offense, puck possession and pop in a couple of goals here and there. But the energy trails off drastically as the other lines hop over the boards, and the long change in the second period has become a death sentence for the Bruins as it was in a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.
In this one, the Bruins were outshot 10-4 in the second period and outscored by a pair of goals, including a backbreaking score at the very end of the second stanza that served as an effective gut punch during the second intermission.
After it was over, the Bruins couldn’t be blamed for feeling once again like they’re outgunned against one of the best teams in the NHL. It feels like most of the emotion and highest-level energy has been sucked out of the Bruins group right now and they are left with players thinking about next season while finishing out the final 12 games on the calendar.
“They came in waves. They played well. That's a testament to their team. It's our job to combat whatever they bring to us, and I thought we did a good job of that,” said Jeremy Swayman, who held strong in the first period before the dam finally broke in the second. “We just didn't get the results.
“We can't let things snowball and worry about the past because we can't control it, and that's a message that we hope to get across to everyone here. We just got to keep moving forward. We just need to keep moving forward because that's all we can control and just keep pushing for that playoff spot.”
If the same story keeps playing out in each and every game for the Bruins, it makes it that much more frustrating trying to move forward when you are stuck in the same unavoidable rut.
That’s the ultimate punch line in this roast of a season for the Boston Bruins. Even now after a fire sale at the trade deadline where so many things have gone wrong this year, they are just five points out of a playoff spot behind the wild card leader in Montreal. But they don’t have the firepower to make a play on that postseason spot, and quite honestly the players themselves might be the only ones interested still interested in a postseason run this spring.
Certainly, the B’s organization is better off losing the majority of the remaining 12 games, including this gauntlet of a West Coast trip that began with a difficult matchup in Las Vegas against a big, skilled playoff contender, and inserting guys like 22-year-old Fabian Lysell to get a better read on what that young player can bring at the NHL level.
As for Thursday night, it played out like the same bad Black and Gold movie. The Golden Knights scored a power-play goal after another Nikita Zadorov slashing penalty in the second period, and then the B’s had a last-minute breakdown when they allowed a Pavel Dorofeyev goal after Mark Kastelic lost a defensive zone face-off. The goals allowed in the last minute of periods, the penalty issues and the special teams breakdowns have been season-long issues that have never been fully addressed with the group and could portend even more changes to come organizationally after the season is over.
"Pass right — Dorofeyev scores again!"
— Golden Knights Radio (@VGKRadioNetwork) March 21, 2025
"One goal for each plugged nostril!"
🔊 @Dan_DUva
Pavel Dorofeyev gets some nasal repairs then comes back to score his second goal of the game. pic.twitter.com/SUqwlru2dh
As for Thursday night, however, it was just the same old story playing out for a Bruins team that is absolutely playing out the NHL string. Yes, there is frustration because these are competitive people that are used to winning at what they do, but there is also definite resignation within a group that knows they don’t really have a fair chance to compete on a nightly basis for the rest of this season anyway.
“You're always frustrated when you lose. It doesn't matter what game it is,” said Joe Sacco. “We knew coming in here tonight it was going to be a challenge against a real good hockey team. We came right in to play. Frustration can't set in. That's a bad thing. We need to just keep digging in, working hard and making sure that we're playing to the end.”
At this point, the real bright spot for the group is Morgan Geekie as he continues to score goals and drive his way to a bigger contract this season as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. It almost felt like David Pastrnak was forcing passes to his linemates, at times, rather than shooting himself as the dollar signs go up with each new plateau, he can cross to prove his potential goal-scoring prowess.
One thing is certain: The 26-year-old Geekie is looking at a big raise this offseason from the modest $2 million per season he was making in his last contract and he’s going to be doing business with a Bruins management group still smarting from a prolonged, nasty negotiation process with a player in Jeremy Swayman that was in a similar position to Geekie at this time last season.
The hope has to be that the Bruins and Geekie can come to a quicker, more agreeable resolution this time around after the Swayman debacle, starting with the trade of Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators, was absolutely where things began going sideways for this season’s group that never fully righted the ship in its aftermath.