Plus/Minus: Chara Will Need Time To Knock Off Rust
BOSTON (CBS) - The Bruins spotted the Blackhawks three goals, and in the end their comeback fell just short as Boston lost its sixth game in their past eight contests, losing 3-2 to Chicago Thursday night at TD Garden.
Following the game, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones caught up with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers of the Bruins Radio Network to break it all down.
"Chicago is too good a team to dig yourselves a 3-0 hole; that's a long way back. Coming into tonight they were tied for the no. 1 goals against team in the league. Give the Bruins credit for clawing their way back into this game. The Patrice Bergeron line was dominant, but give [Blackhawks goalie] Scott Darling credit for making some big saves, especially in the second and third period when the Bruins outshot them 20-9," said Goucher.
There's a big enough sample size on the Bruins (15-13-1, 5th in Atlantic Division) to really get a read on this team and what they are: they (mostly) beat the teams they should beat, and they lose to the teams that are better than them.
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The Blackhawks are clearly better than them, so what you lack in talent you have to make up for in effort and physicality -- the Bruins did not do that Thursday night.
"[The effort] just wasn't enough. As good as the Bruins were in November, you looked at the schedule in December against some of the best teams in the West and wondered how it was gonna go, and so far it has not gone well," said Goucher. "They've lost to Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and now Chicago. The frustrations continue for the Bruins. They get [Zdeno] Chara back tonight, but they still end up losing this game."
Zdeno Chara (knee) was back in the lineup for the first time after a 19-game injury absence. Chara had 24:11 minutes of ice time in his return, and while it was good to see Big Z back out there, it's clear it'll take some time for him to get back to form.
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"I thought he was rusty, but I didn't expect anything more to be honest with you. It's your first game back in almost seven weeks and you've got to play against Chicago -- that's a tough way to come back," Bob Beers said of the Bruins captain.
"[Chara] will get better as he goes along, and I thought he got better as the game went along. You don't expect him to come back on the ice and get back to where he was prior to an injury. It might take a little while for him, but it's good to have him back and now you work with it to get him back to speed and knock the rust off."
Listen below for the full analysis:
After his chat with Goucher and Beers, Adam Jones goes over the positives and negatives from Thursday night's loss in a segment he calls "Plus/Minus."
Plus
The Bergeron Line
"They were dominant in this game tonight."
Reilly Smith
"He got his team-leading seventh game in the second period, which really helped make a game out of things."
Third Period
"You outshoot Chicago 10-2 and Milan Lucic was a man amongst boys on that Torey Krug goal."
Penalty Kill
"They had to kill off not one, but two five-on-threes in that second period. They killed off four power plays in total against Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks."
Minus
Torey Krug and Zach Trotman
"As a defensive pairing it lasted for a period and resulted in a couple goals in the back of the net."
Carl Soderberg's Line
"Soderberg, [Loui] Eriksson, and Milan Lucic. Lucic was demoted in the third period because he was standing around and watching from the right circle on that Patrick Kane goal. It was pathetic."
Dennis Seidenberg
"He may have to hear from the league on that hit on Jonathan Toews. He may receive supplemental discipline."
Listen below for the full segment:
Hear every game of the 2014-15 Boston Bruins season on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the Boston Bruins. Pregame coverage with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers begins 30 minutes prior to every game!
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