By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter / X @Jainchill_Ryan
The Boston Bruins have struggled since returning from the NHL holiday break. In the six games since returning, the team has a record of 1-4-1, with three of those losses coming against teams below the playoff line. Not much has gone right for the Bruins, who were having their best month of the season with an 8-2-1 record before the break.
The team’s struggles now include some that have been prominent all season and some that have recently started. Whether it’s a lack of scoring, defensive breakdowns, slow starts, or struggling to keep the momentum, the Bruins have begun to fall into the incredibly crowded mix of playoff hopefuls in the Eastern Conference. These four aspects of the team’s game need to improve for the Bruins to rebound to form.
Lack of scoring
The Bruins have struggled to score all season. Their 111 goals rank them 25th in the league, and the seven teams below them in this category are all outside the playoff picture. While scoring hasn’t quite been the most significant issue for the Bruins in their last two contests, with the team potting four goals in back-to-back nights, the losses to Washington and the New York Rangers, in particular, exemplify the team’s scoring woes.
In those two losses, the Bruins recorded one goal in each game. Scoring one goal is rarely going to win a game at the NHL level, and to make matters worse, goaltender Jeremy Swayman only allowed two goals in each of those games. Those two losses could have been salvaged with more scoring, especially when your netminder stops 24 of 26 and 25 of 27, respectively.
Adding in the 6-2 loss to Columbus in the first game out of the break, the Bruins have failed to record more than two goals in three of their five losses in this skid. In those three losses, the netminders they faced (Elvis Merzlikins, Logan Thompson, and Jonathan Quick) posted a combined 1.33 goals against average and a .953 save percentage in the games against Boston. While sure, that can be chalked up to goaltenders standing on their heads, the inability to score when given chances has caused this skid.
Another aspect of the scoring woes is the lack of scoring from the backend. The Bruins have 12 goals from defensemen on the season, which places them in a three-way tie for 28th in the league with Detroit. Only the Rangers, Toronto, and Ottawa have fewer goals from their defense. If the backend can start contributing on the goal sheet, it would go a long way to eliminating the goal-scoring struggles.
Defensive breakdowns
The other common theme that has hampered the Bruins this season is defensive breakdowns. Whether it’s lost assignments, poor pinches, misplays of the puck, or a combination of all three, the lapses have cost the team on the scoresheet. In particular, in the losses to Toronto and the Islanders, games in which the offense scored four goals in each game, the defensive issues led to the team coming up short.
This issue isn’t just on the defensive core. It also comes back to the forwards and even the netminders at times. A prime example of these issues came on Matthew Knies’ hat trick goal in the loss to Toronto on Saturday. After Knies dumped the puck in, Auston Matthews wrestled Charlie McAvoy off the puck. Nikita Zadorov was caught in the corner expecting a pass from McAvoy, and Pavel Zacha was late in supporting his defenseman behind this net. This led to Knies finding himself wide open in the slot to regain a 4-3 lead for the Maple Leafs.
On Anders Lee’s second goal of the night in the overtime loss to the Islanders, Brad Marchand misplayed a puck on the wall on a breakout attempt. McAvoy, who was starting to head up ice, left Parker Wotherspoon as the lone defender back to stop a modified two-on-one, having to make a split-second decision on what to cover. The pass eluded him, and it found Lee’s stick for a goal.
We’ve seen the Bruins fix these issues for stretches of games and turn them into victories. Could we see the team return to form on their own end? Absolutely. But ideally, this doesn’t mean that the scoring takes a hit, and when the scoring is on like it has been in the last two games, we don’t see the defensive side of the game struggle.
Slow starts
One of the Bruins’ newer issues in the last six games is their slow first periods. However, these struggles aren’t just about scoring first, which is something the Bruins have done three times in this stretch. They’re about having a consistently strong opening frame that sets the tone for the remainder of the game.
In the three games in which the team scored first, all three goals have come within the first five minutes of play. Justin Brazeau tallied the opening goal twice in the Bruins’ lone victory of this stretch over Columbus and in the loss to Washington, and Cole Koepke opened the scoring against the Islanders. These fast starts are crucial for success, but the team has failed to capitalize on that opening momentum.
In the first period of the six games, the Bruins have been outscored 8-4. These poor starts have caused the team to play from behind and claw back into games. While these comebacks have occurred, playing from behind consistently isn’t a recipe for success. A complete effort in the opening 20 minutes sets the tone for the rest of the game and can get the Bruins out of this slump.
Struggling to keep the momentum
The final issue plaguing the Bruins during their 1-4-1 stretch is their inability to maintain momentum. Whether it’s after a goal or a penalty kill, the Bruins haven’t been able to keep their foot on the gas when needed. Excluding the lone victory of this stretch, the Bruins have only scored consecutive goals twice, showing the recent failure to keep their momentum going.
In a sport where momentum is crucial, capitalizing on it goes a long way toward winning hockey games. Recalling back to the Knies’ goal from the loss to Toronto, that go-ahead marker came directly after David Pastrnak tied the game at three. Boston was close to regaining the momentum after having battled back from down 2-0 and 3-2, but the backbreaking goal from Knies would have them playing from behind again.
On Sunday night, after Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy unsuccessfully challenged Koepke’s opening marker, the Bruins were given a power play for delay of game. Boston could have used the man advantage to increase its lead early in the game, but instead, it was victimized by a short-handed marker and a goal in the vulnerable minute afterward. Rather than being up 2-0 or having used the power play to keep the momentum up, the Bruins were trailing. This is a prime example of failing to capitalize on opening momentum and instead having to play from behind.
Maintaining momentum after a goal, a penalty kill, a couple of big saves, or even a power play that generated chances is key for getting back in the win column. Building on positive events goes a long way in 60 minutes, which is something the Bruins haven’t been able to find over the last six games but is something they are hoping can begin to change over their next stretch of play.
On a four-game losing streak to start the 2025 calendar year, the Bruins are looking to snap out of this stretch of poor play as they hit the season’s halfway point. To get back on track and stack points in the crowded Eastern Conference, the Bruins need to find consistent scoring, limit their defensive miscues, start games on time, and work towards maintaining momentum over an entire game.
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