Three games in and it’s not looking so good for the Boston Bruins.
Sure, they won their first game over the Nashville Predators, but they’re coming off back-to-back losses to the Colorado Avalanche. That’s right: the Avalanche. They were the worst team in the NHL last season–and on paper they probably were again this season (year, the Vegas Golden Knights were probably better). If the B’s have lost to them 9-3 in their last two games, then there’s a little problem.
It’s already at the point where Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy is calling out his team’s veterans. He just said they need to be better than they have been–and he is right. Tuukka Rask hasn’t stopped pucks in either of those games. But no, you can’t pin it all on him.
The biggest issue with this team (predictably) has been their defensive unit. 40-year-old Zdeno Chara probably shouldn’t be a workhorse out on their defense, just saying.
Oh, and their offense has some health issues right now. Look at the injury report and you’ll see Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Noel Acciari. Not that Acciari would be a huge impact player, but the prior two put up a combined 91 points last season. For a team that relies so much on a couple guys to score (Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak), the Bruins options are kind of limited at this point when you take two guys away from them.
So what’s that mean for the B’s moving forward? Not much. It’s still really in the season so they’ll definitely be better. They’re not the worst team going, nor are they the best team. A good prediction would be their season is going to come down to the last week of the year–like it does every year.
Still plenty of hockey to be played.