Kalman: Loss Another Lesson For Bruins, But When Will They Learn?
BOSTON (CBS) - For five periods the Bruins looked like they were really going to be able to survive this post-Zdeno Chara portion of their lives.
With games against the laughable likes of the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers dotting most of their upcoming schedule, the Bruins were actually looking at a potential, honest-to-goodness winning streak had they closed out the Minnesota Wild in the third period on Tuesday.
Coming on the heels of their 60 minutes of dominance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Bruins' first two periods against the Wild looked like a continuation of the team play and devotion to the system that could carry them until Chara's return.
And then it all came crashing down, and doubt has to be creeping in about who this Bruins team really is.
Chara or no Chara, there was no excuse for what happened against the Wild, as the Bruins blew a 3-1 lead and lost 4-3 to a team that not only played the night before in New York and arrived late Monday into Boston, but a team that lost its own 3-0 lead to the Rangers and lost 5-4.
"It better be a good lesson that we can't take any lead, two goals, three goals, anything lightly," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who had a goal and an assist, plus a game-high seven hits. "So we've got to take this as a lesson that we got to play for a full 60 minutes and it's the NHL, right. It's the best players, the best teams, that's why you've got to play your best for the full 60 minutes in this league."
But how many lessons does a team have to learn before it starts to practice what's been taught? The Bruins thought they learned a lesson about getting off to better starts after they were embarrassed by Detroit and Washington. The Bruins' third-period collapse in Montreal was also supposed to be a wakeup call.
Not to take too much away from the Bruins, but two of their wins in their current 3-2-0 stretch were against the aforementioned laughingstock Sabres and a Maple Leafs team that was playing as close to a team that looked like it wanted to get its coach fired as any club could. Obviously, you play your schedule, and two points are two points, but a win against the Wild would've been a statement.
A victory also would've put the Bruins above .500 for the first time since they were 1-0-0. They're off to their worst 11-game start since they were 4-7-0 in 2011-12. Coming off winning the Stanley Cup the prior June, the Bruins were actually 3-7 before they won 10 in a row.
That might be the positive lesson for the Bruins. Much of the core of this team was around for that post-Cup season and was able to rally around that slow start. Instead of continuing to hang their heads and letting the poor start snowball, the Bruins had one of the best months in franchise history.
Losing Chara was supposed to nurture unity in the Bruins. Instead, they're still an inconsistent bunch that looks ready to make coach Claude Julien start making Jekyll and Hyde references like he did a couple years ago. Forward Reilly Smith continues to look like a guy who could've used that week of training camp he missed, and his linemate Brad Marchand just can't get on track or stop taking dumb penalties. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski, now in his fifth pro season, has failed to improve and against the Wild he didn't get off the bench for the final 14:04. Just when it seemed like the Gregory Campbell line with Daniel Paille with Simon Gagne was going to bring on a new era of fourth-line fortitude, it did little to prevent Minnesota was building up momentum during its comeback.
These weak points can all turn around in a snap. Although they left points on the table against the Wild, the Bruins still have that cupcake schedule coming up. They can revert to playing like they did in Toronto and get no worse than six of the next eight points (with a somewhat tough test against Ottawa sandwiched before the above-mentioned tomato can teams).
All is not lost, but the Bruins have to stop talking about wakeup calls, turning points and consistency, and actually do something about their problems.
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