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Kalman: Reality's Bite Might've Come Too Late To Save Bruins

WILMINGTON (CBS) -- Hopefully in the midst of an 0-3-2 stretch, the Bruins aren't waiting for injured center David Krejci to return and rescue them from April oblivion.

Because it doesn't sound like Krejci has plans to be the savior. He's been out 15 games with a slight tear in his knee and he's been inching closer to a return to the lineup for several days.

"It's not really about me," said Krejci after practice at Ristuccia Arena on Tuesday. "It's about the team and when I feel good enough and I feel that I can help the team, then I'll be back."

Considering the Bruins have averaged less than two goals per game during their most recent slump, adding a player who has averaged 0.68 points per game this season like Krejci has could be a boon. With or without Krejci, however, the Bruins might want to just look at the standings for a reality check. Unlike "The Office" without Steve Carrell, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will go on and remain entertaining even if the Bruins are absent.

The Bruins, who held a seven-point lead after they beat Ottawa on March 10, are now one point behind the Senators for the second Eastern Conference wild card with Ottawa holding a game in hand.

After a brief, high-tempo practice Tuesday, a few of the Bruins' most important players at least said the right things about how they can make sure their last nine games of the regular season aren't their last nine games of the season.

"We know that we've put ourselves in this situation and it's up to us to get out of it," defenseman Torey Krug said. "So there's no reason to sit here and sulk because if we do sulk then we're just going to be pushed even further back. It's up to us. It is us that put us in this situation, so we've just got to make sure we're bringing that commitment, that sacrifice and bringing that more consistently."

"I definitely believe," forward Milan Lucic said. "You have to believe at this point. You can't feel sorry for yourself and you can't dwell on the situation that we've put ourselves in. You have to try and get in that positive mindset and that competitive mindset that's going to get you over that edge. I truly believe that this team has it in themselves to get themselves in that playoff spot. And like I said it's up to us to believe in ourselves, believe in each other and believe in our game plan. And it will help us in the end."

This lip service from the leadership corps would mean a lot more if it wasn't repetitive and reminiscent of past proclamations during several of Boston's slumps. The Bruins went 0-0-3 and then won five in a row in January. They went 0-4-2 in February and responded with an 8-1-1 run. Every time they slumped, they spoke about commitment and determination, and those words turned into productive actions for about the length of a Ken Burns miniseries on PBS.

Roller coasters are insulted when their inconsistency is equated with this bunch of Bruins. The Bruins' play over 72 games has given observers no reason to believe they'll back up their words down the home stretch.

The Bruins with Krejci were 20-12-6. So far they are 16-13-6 without him. Putting aside the unknown severity of his injury (only Krejci knows how hurt he is) it would seem that any amount of Krejci would help this team. Of course, it was thought that getting Krejci, Zdeno Chara, and Adam McQuaid back in the lineup at midseason meant that the Bruins were going to roll back into contention for the division title. And of course, here we are with the Bruins looking up at the Senators in the wild-card race.

The Bruins have talked about desperation and their early-onset playoff mentality for weeks. When they could've buried the Senators after that win March 10, they went 2-3-2 and allowed the hottest team in the league to overtake them. Instead of taking the race seriously, they played like they were privileged and were looking ahead to one of those "anything can happen" playoff runs that the Los Angeles Kings went on three years ago. Hardly any other team has accomplished what the Kings did in 2012, but hey, these are the Boston Bruins, don't you know? They were going to be the triumphant underdogs.

Technically there's still some time left to back up their words, and past experience might come in handy.

"But I think right now we can use that desperation and what it takes to win a Stanley Cup into these next nine games, what the desperation needs to be, into our game to get out of this and get ourselves in a playoff spot," Lucic said. "So I mean we can use our experience in the playoffs in the past and the holes that we've had to climb out of because we're in a hole right now and we're going to have to go out there and prove ourselves to earn that spot because we know it's not going to be given to us."

It's so sad that it's going to take Stanley Cup-level desperation for the Bruins just to earn a playoff berth. But that's what happens when you play as though you're in an alternate reality where you're still the defending Cup champions four years after you won it.

They don't give out automatic bids to the NHL tournament. The Bruins might've figured that out too late.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.

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