Bruins Falling Rapidly
To say the Boston Bruins have had a surprising, albeit disappointing, first half of the season is an understatement. Though many top ranked teams were struggling at the beginning of the season, Boston has not been able to find its footing, as they previously have been able to do. With the Buffalo Sabres having a surprisingly great season, the Bruins are falling fast in the rankings after picked to be a top five team in the league.
Unfortunately, for Boston, the only aspect of their game that seems to be on point is goaltending. Though he got off to a rough start, Tim Thomas has worked himself back to the condition he was last season and backup Tuukka Rask is shining as a rookie within the NHL. Boston has managed to find the back of the net numerous times this season and have managed to hold off offensively driven teams. The problem does not exactly lie in the offense or defense, however. Boston does not finish their games, giving up possessions and allowing breakthroughs against their defense. Even Coach Claude Julien has commented on the reality that Boston loses its momentum in the third period.
This summer there was a lot of movement with players in the Bruins organization as Aaron Ward, PJ Axelsson, Stephane Yelle, Shane Hnidy, and Steve Montador were lost as free agents, with Axelsson going to Sweden and opting out of playing within the NHL for his last years. The acquisition of Derek Morris and Steve Morris has helped slightly, as well as the re-signing of Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Tim Thomas and Byron Bitz.
Perhaps two of the biggest trades this season, however, have been the Phil Kessel and Chuck Kobasew trades. Kessel became a free agent this past summer and would not agree to any contract extension set before him by the Bruins organization. Boston would not budge: they need cap space for possible emergency signings this upcoming season as well as for next summer when the free agency list includes some of their key players. After being traded to Toronto, fans were not sure if Boston could find the back of the net without their resident rebound sniper.
The season started rough for Boston, they could not keep the puck out of their zone one game then the next game they would not be able to find the back of the net. They found a good stride a few games into it, and then lost it again. Seemingly, out of nowhere Chuck Kobasew was traded to the Minnesota Wild, which seemed to break Boston out of their slump. However, with the loss of Marc Savard and Milan Lucic to injuries, as well as inconsistent play, Boston has had a hard time crawling back up the leadership board.
Last season, Boston’s play was consistent. Though their offense lagged a little, in general they managed to rally when they were down and come back. However, it almost seems as if players do not care this season. The Kobasew trade seemed to wake the team up a bit, but there is only so much that can be done to get the team motivated.
Boston was named as a top ranked team for this season but there have been a lot of surprises within the NHL in terms of predictions. With the Buffalo Sabres blowing past their opponents, especially on the road, and the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes at the bottom of the pile, it should be interesting to see if any predictions made for this season will come true. Boston fans are only concerned with one thing however: the Bruins need to start winning and fast.
article by Leigh-Anne Hurley
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