(Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel / Imagn Images)

By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones

After posting a record of 0-5 on their most recent road trip, the Bruins are back in Boston to take on the Washington Capitals. They now sport a record of 30-35-9. During the five contests, the Bruins were overmatched and too often played uninspired hockey.

On the trip, Boston was not solid enough in their own zone or potent in their opponents’ end. They allowed 23 goals and only managed to find the back of the net on seven occasions.

Jeremy Swayman was the starting goaltender in three games and allowed an abysmal 14 goals on 77 shots. That comes out to an 81.8 save percentage. He was awful his first two starts before putting together a solid game against the Detroit Red Wings, where he allowed two goals on 22 Detroit shots.

But overall, Swayman has not been good enough in his first season of an eight-year deal. He needs to be much more effective between the pipes in the future if the Bruins want an effective retool to occur.

The defensive downfall was not the only story of the road trip. Boston’s offense, which has been ineffective for most of the season, went ice cold.

Morgan Geekie potted four goals, bumping his season total to an impressive 27. The rest of the Bruins skaters only managed three lamp lighters, as Casey Mittelstadt, Elias Lindholm, and David Pastrnak accounted for the other Boston goals.

The Bruins, as has been the case for much of the season, had too many passengers and not nearly enough drivers and playmakers. If Pastrnak is not orchestrating the offensive attack or Geekie is not rifling the puck into the back of the net, Boston’s offense becomes much to easy to defend.

While many Bruins mainstays are out of the lineup, either through injuries or trades, the players lacing up the skates every night are not playing with enough bite. They are too easy to compete against.

At this point, it is advantageous for the Bruins to improve their potential draft position by continuing to lose games. However, that does not excuse Boston’s laxness during contests. Far too often, they appear to be going through the motions.

The Bruins players, coaching staff, and front office must focus on this during these eight remaining regular season games. Who will compete hard and maintain their tenacity despite being out of the playoff picture?

There are many open slots for next year’s Bruins lineup. Many longtime players and locker room staples are gone. Who will replace them? Statistics alone will not determine it. Boston’s coaches and executives will closely monitor the effort displayed throughout the lineup.

But what made the road trip and the Bruins’ most recent struggles so disheartening was not just the fact that they were losing games—that is understandable—but how they were losing games. Far too often recently, Boston has been run out of the building, and they are losing to teams both in and out of the playoff standings.

Boston cannot continue to play with this severe lack of passion for these last eight games. If this continues, some players on the roster will not be here or possibly with any NHL team next year.

Payers like Johnny Beecher, Mason Lohrei, and Jakub Lauko will be restricted free agents this offseason. The Bruins front office will closely monitor who they want to bring back to Boston. While the playoffs are not in the cards, the Bruins must remember that these remaining games will significantly determine who will dawn Black and Gold next season.