By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
Last night, the Boston Bruins lost a 6-2 contest to the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets. The loss, coupled with a victory by the Columbus Blue Jackets, plummets Boston out of the playoff structure, a spot they didn’t anticipate being in when the season started. A ton has gone wrong for the Black and Gold this season, but one trend that needs to stop is goal flurries.
I thought Boston had played a solid game through the first two periods. After 40 minutes, the Bruins had out-attempted the Jets 46-35, scored an elusive power play goal, and were only down one heading into the third. The game seemed to turn when Pavel Zacha won a faceoff to Elias Lindholm, who one-timed a shorthanded snipe past Connor Hellebucyk to tie the game at one.
You could feel the energy at TD Garden shift tangibly, and the emotion of the Bruins came out as Lindholm pumped his fists and embraced Zacha. That energy was quickly squashed when the Jets scored a power-play goal 24 seconds later, a goal off a turnover one minute and six seconds later, and a backbreaking goal five minutes and 22 seconds later.
Within the first six minutes of the third period, the Boston Bruins went from tied with the best team in the NHL in the third period of a home game (where their record is 16-8-3) to trailing the score by three goals and effectively out of the game. The Jets would add an empty-net goal to make it four unanswered goals when everything was said and done. That inability to stop the bleeding and allow goals to come in flurries has hampered Boston all season.
“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s just been like that this year,” said assistant captain Charlie McAvoy following his first game back from injured reserve (and becoming a father). “I feel like if we knew exactly what was wrong, we would’ve stopped it by now. We just have a way of letting it compound. I don’t have an answer for you right now, but it’s something we’ll look at, and we have to address.”
One could argue that Boston’s biggest problem this season has been its failure to maintain leads and prevent games from getting out of control. Too often, fans have seen their team cut into a deficit, tie the score, or take the lead in a game to have their momentum dashed by an avalanche of goals from their opponent. That trend is alarming, but what might be more worrisome is that the team doesn’t have a good answer for why it’s happening.
“I don’t have a good answer for that,” said Elias Lindholm when asked how often opponents have scored flurries of goals against his team this season. “I wish I had (one). Obviously, that’s something that’s not good from our side…”We (make) some mistakes out there, and mistakes happen, but right now, they’re very costly for us.”
The Boston Bruins have lost 22 regulation games so far this season. They’ve allowed opponents to score three unanswered goals six times, four unanswered goals six times, and five unanswered goals twice. In 14 of their 22 regulation losses (64 percent), Boston has hemorrhaged goals and ultimately allowed games to slip away. Their goal differential is fifth-worst in the league, they’ve given up the sixth-most goals in the NHL, and they’re currently outside the playoff structure because of it.
“We’re just making mistakes,” said captain Brad Marchand following last night’s loss. “It seems like every mistake we make is costing us. So we have to tighten up where we can.”
The most alarming part about this trend in Boston’s game is that it’s been an issue throughout each month of the season. Of the 14 games I mentioned above, four occurred in January, three in December, three in November, and four in October. If there’s one area the 2024-25 Bruins have been consistent, it’s in their inability to seize momentum and stop games from slipping away.
This four-month pattern makes one question this team’s mental toughness and ability to fight through adversity. Fans and media alike have been clamoring for the front office to shake up this roster, but you have to wonder if it will take more than just a fringe roster move for the Bruins to regain their mojo.
We’ve seen several impressive comeback wins this season (Colorado, San Jose, St. Louis, and Philadelphia come to mind), but far too often, the script has been flipped on the Bruins. They need to find ways to mitigate the damage they take and stop the bleeding before their playoff hopes completely slip away.
Leave a Reply