By: Chad Jones I Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
Since returning from the National Hockey Leagues’ Christmas break, the Boston Bruins have been sloppy and ineffective in the defensive zone. Boston’s record stands at 1-5-1 with 26 goals allowed over this stretch. Their most recent defensive debacle occurred this past Tuesday night.
The Bruins welcomed Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers to TD Garden. Boston was coming off a frustrating overtime home defeat to the New York Islanders. After dropping the extra point, fans hoped the Bruins would be more dialed in on the details, especially defensively. But from the jump, it was clear Boston was in for a long night.
Veteran forward Adam Henrique started the scoring by burying a wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman after a slick feed from Corey Perry. Despite five Bruins skaters within the vicinity, none of them could eliminate Henrique from the play.
The Oilers dominated the first period. Edmonton outshot Boston by ten. The Bruins were lucky that their deficit was only one goal after the initial 20.
In the middle of the second period, the Bruins were on the penalty kill. Pavel Zacha was alone between the faceoff circles with the puck on his stick, but Stuart Skinner stoned the Boston forward. Charlie McAvoy inexplicably fired the puck toward the center of the ice from just inside the Oilers’ blue line. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins corralled the puck and found the streaking McDavid flying past both of Boston’s defensemen. The all-world skater was left with too much ice to work with and beat Swayman on the clean breakaway following an impressive stick-handling display. The Bruins were mere inches from tying the game, but the Oilers pounced on their opportunity to tack on an insurance score instead.
Late in the third period, Henrique again found the back of the net from the slot, putting the game out of reach. The forward entered the contest with three goals in 39 games this season. He left TD Garden with five tallies on the year. The Oilers would bury an empty netter to hand Boston an embarrassing 4-0 defeat.
This game highlighted the consistent problems that have plagued the Bruins during this horrendous stretch. The defensemen and forwards alike have not been strong enough with the puck and have not made good enough decisions. They have been too loose in their coverage, especially when it comes to defending the slot. And the skaters have not had a high enough competitive level along the walls. Both Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have also contributed during this rough patch. While the defensive structure has undoubtedly not helped them out, they have not been effective at keeping the puck out of the net.
Boston is about to embark on a critical four-game stretch against divisional opponents. The Bruins will head on the road to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, then return to TD Garden to host the Lightning and the Ottawa Senators. Over the next ten days, the Bruins must fine-tune their details, increase their competitive motors, and play a sounder defensive structure.
This stretch of games is a critical opportunity for Boston to bank some points and gain traction in the standings. However, continuing to play sloppy hockey could also damage their season.
Leave a Reply