Kalman: Bruins' Half Performances Don't Create Confidence They'll Make Playoffs
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins played well for half their road trip and returned home with half the available points in the standings.
Despite falling behind Detroit by one point for third place in the Atlantic Division, they still control their own destiny because one of Boston's remaining three games is against the Red Wings (at home on Thursday).
But if after watching the Bruins beat St. Louis 6-5 on Friday and lose to Chicago 6-4 on Sunday you have any faith they can accumulate enough points this week to return to the playoffs, you're black-and-gold-tinted glasses are clearly glued to your face.
Their two-game jaunt to the Midwest was a microcosm of their whole season. They haven't played well at home but have succeeded on the road. Even in their many road victories, and also in their closer home losses, the Bruins have almost never put forth a full 60-minute effort. All season they haven't been able to sync up all the aspects of their game. They do everything halfway.
When they headed out on the road the Bruins had scored 10 goals in their prior seven games, six of which were regulation losses. Well, they solved their offensive problems by scoring 10 goals in two games, led of course by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci with two each.
But now the defense is in shambles. And that's not just because Dennis Seidenberg didn't make the trip and Kevan Miller went out with a lower-body injury after a first-period collision against the Blues. Regardless of who the Bruins plug in on their back end right now, players who have been with the team right now should be able to make the majority of their decisions correctly. Or they should be able to make up for some sloppy play with the puck by playing better away from it with determination and guile.
Instead you get Joe Morrow. Sure his giveaway on Patrick Kane's first of three goals Sunday was egregious and was the miscue that garnered the most attention. But earlier he inexplicably iced the puck, giving the Blackhawks an offensive-zone faceoff against a tired bunch of Bruins. The ensuing shift allowed Chicago to build momentum and further wear down the Bruins.
Zach Trotman made a half-hearted attempt to block Artemi Panarin's shanked one-timer in the first period, which resulted in Artem Anisimov's power-play goal that got the Blackhawks rolling. Adam McQuaid misplayed the puck at the Boston blue line before Kane's second goal. The Bruins were giving away free scoring chances like Oprah.
But when a defense corps is decimated by injury and attempting to make up a talent gap, it's imperative that the forwards do a better job coming back, supporting the puck and winning battles on the walls. For just about two whole periods against Chicago, the Bruins' forwards were no-shows.
Loui Eriksson surrendered the puck twice – once at the Chicago blue line, once in the neutral zone – under little duress. Brad Marchand was handling the puck like it was on fire and even Bergeron was having a hard time getting his legs moving for about 90 minutes after the early 11:30 a.m. Central start time. Then in the second period when the Bruins were taking risks to try to get back into the game, Matt Beleskey made a boneheaded cross-ice pass that wound up in the Bruins' net for a 5-0 Chicago lead.
The Blackhawks took their feet off the gas, David Pastrnak and Bergeron scored in the final 15 seconds of the second period and suddenly the Bruins found enough life to make things dicey for Chicago in the third period, outshooting the Blackhawks 17-3. But the damage was already done.
If you go back to the Bruins' edge-walking performance in protecting their 5-2 lead in St. Louis (they led the Blues get back to within 5-4 and then let them cut the lead to 6-5 before the final horn), for most of the six periods on the road trip the Bruins' defense – with blame on both the defensemen and the forwards – was a horror show.
You can combine the games and say 'well they did enough things to get two points.' Or you can separate the games and ask 'with the Red Wings passing them in the standings Saturday, how the hell did the Bruins not play better from the start of the game in Chicago?' The latter would just be the latest in baffling questions during a season that's inspired more head scratching and head banging than any recent Bruins history.
Half performances and getting half the remaining six points in the standings probably won't get the Bruins into the playoffs. They have to keep scoring the way they did in the Midwest and tighten up the defense. Regardless of who's healthy or banged-up, it's most important to play smart and play as a five-man unit, two things any team can do when it really believes in itself.
Of course, at this point you wouldn't blame the Bruins for losing belief because they've done little to earn any faith from outside observers.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
