By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Three games into this five-game road trip, the Boston Bruins have played sloppy, ineffective, and uninspired hockey. The Bruins entered their West Coast swing on a three-game skid, having been outscored 15-7 in those defeats. But this stretch has been even worse for the Black and Gold, who now sport a record of 30-33-9 on the season.
Boston has gone 0-3 on this trip and has only found the back of the net four times. Morgan Geekie has accounted for half of the scores, while Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm have provided the other two Bruins’ goals.
Boston’s offensive output this year has been underwhelming, especially with core skaters sidelined with injuries or traded out of the organization. But regardless of who is out of the lineup, the current Bruin forwards and defensemen have not been good enough.
They are not accumulating enough offensive pressure, evidenced by Boston only managing 55 shots in their last 180 minutes. They do not play with the puck enough, and when the Bruins find themselves with a chance to generate offense, they fail too often to pressure the defense and goaltender.
David Pastrnak has gone two games without a point, the first time the star forward has done that since early January. If Pastrnak is not consistently driving the offensive attack, the Bruins do not have enough playmakers in their lineup to consistently produce quality looks.
But the lack of goal-scoring only tells half the tale. The Bruins’ defense and goaltending have been sub-par on this trip. Joonas Korpisalo was solid in his start against the San Jose Sharks this past Saturday, allowing two goals on 20 shots during Boston’s 3-1 defeat. But Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins defense have not held up their end of the bargain.
Swayman has had two brutal starts on this trip. He allowed five goals, including four at even strength, to kick off the road trip with a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. He followed that up by allowing seven even-strengthen goals on 23 shots from the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night. It was the third time Swayman has allowed at least seven goals this year. The most goals he let in a game last season was six.
Swayman’s performance against the Kings was also noteworthy. He tried to fight Darcy Kuemper, but the referees and linesmen did not allow it.
After the game, Nikita Zadorov gave an interesting answer when asked about the incident. Whether Zadorov was showing his frustration for Swayman’s decision to try to have a goalie fight in a game in which he allowed seven goals or voicing his displeasure after another lopsided defeat, he was irritated talking to the media postgame.
The Bruins must channel their frustration onto the ice for the remaining ten games. Too often recently, Boston has played with a severe lack of intensity. Their attention to detail has not been sharp enough, offensively or defensively. It is inexcusable for Bruins players to show a lack of effort on the ice consistently.
It does not matter how far out of the playoff race they are. Boston needs to regain their competitive drive and at least compete hard during those 60 minutes. Anything short of that will be unacceptable.
The Bruins have two games left on this road trip: they play the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings before returning to Boston. They cannot continue to come out lackluster and play uninspired hockey.
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