Monday Skate-Around: Bruins Can't Win Out West, Seguin Can't Miss Start Of Playoffs

By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins remain on the road but will be in Manhattan for their next game, Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. The Black & Gold emerge from a disappointing West Coast road trip in which they generally competed and put forth an honest effort, but simply do not have the personnel to hang with the best teams of the Pacific.

It started in San Jose, where the Sharks came back from down 2-1 to hold on for a 3-2 win after a last-second save by James Reimer on Torey Krug. The Bruins could not overcome a handful of defensive breakdowns and struggled to contain Norris trophy candidate Brent Burns.

In Anaheim, the Bruins had no answer for the Ducks' size and lockdown defensive schemes, and when they got to goalie Frederik Anderson he was there to make key stops. Ryan Getzlaf was practically unstoppable moving the puck through the neutral zone and setting up his linemates. The Bruins did fall victim to some poor, ostensibly one-sided officiating, and while it ultimately had no bearing on the outcome of the game, head coach Claude Julien wasn't shy about calling the refs on their apparent biases - and to defy the idea that the Bruins should start "diving" like other teams in the league do.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Bruins outshot and outhit the Los Angeles Kings while Patrice Bergeron won 17 of 26 faceoffs (65.4 percent) against Anze Kopitar, but could not solve goalie Jonathan Quick or the Kings' shot-blocking defense. It was a game that exposes the flaws in advanced possession metrics like Corsi; a quick look at the stat sheet would tell you the Bruins thoroughly outplayed the Kings on Saturday. In reality, Tuukka Rask held off an early flurry of shots from the Kings to keep the game close.

There's no question that the Bruins still have a strong enough core to give a representative effort against the league's elite, but their deficiencies on defense and relative lack of offensive depth beyond the Bergeron line could ultimately be their undoing, especially if they are able to make a surprise run to the Cup Finals.

Let's have a quick look around the NHL with the rest of the Monday Skate-Around...

- Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin suffered a partially cut Achilles tendon, which should keep him out of action for at least three-to-four weeks. He's also unsure whether he will be ready for the start of the postseason, but "can't really picture" missing Game 1 of the Stars' opening round series.

- Buffalo Sabres star and North Chelmsford native Jack Eichel missed the first Sabres game of his career, not because of a physical injury but because he had the flu.

- The Bruins won't be part of the NHL Draft Lottery, which is set for April 30, but most of the Canadian teams will. The Toronto Maple Leafs have the best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, at 20 percent.

- The Winnipeg Jets gave Andrew Ladd a hero's welcome when he returned to his former team for the first time since being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. This is what respect sounds like:

- The Colorado Avalanche lost star forward Nathan MacKinnon with a knee injury, and are evaluating him this week. They are already without leading scorer Matt Duchene and are battling for one of the final Wild Card spots in the Western Conference.

Must-see video: Marc-Andre Fleury poke checks puck into own goal

In one of the most bizarre goals that you will see all season, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury poke checks the puck, which ricochets off the helmet of Capitals forward Jason Chimera and into the net.

Have any suggestions or tips for the Monday Skate-Around? Send Matt a tweet or email below.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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