The Bruins continued to roll through this past week as their great stetch of play continued. Meanwhile, I had my ass handed to me by COVID. It was pretty intresting to watch the Bruins play while feeling like death. But at least they waited to lose when I got better, that way I wouldn’t have felt worse.
No Breaks For Bottom Feeders
The Bruins went back-to-back last Wednesday and Thursday against Montreal and Philly. Two old rivals that are not exactly in top form. I mentioned earlier this season though that Boston cannot let off the gas for games against weaker opponents. And looks like they maybe read what I said because they absolutely did not let off the gas.
The Bruins torched the Habs 5-1 before defeating the Flyers 3-2 the following night. Brad Marchand put up a hattrick against Montreal while David Pastrňák scored all three goals for Boston against Philly. These two events almost single-handedly caused a city-wide hat shortage in Boston. But that’s a very good problem to have.
Tuukka Rask also officially made his first start this season against the Flyers. He stood tall in the net and made several great saves on huge scoring chances for Philly. The cheer of “TTTUUUUKKKKK” sounded almost deafening in TD Garden. Almost brought a tear to my eye.
Goals, Goals, Goals!
Earlier this season, it really felt like everyone on Boston but Marchand and Bergeron were struggling to score. Now it feels like every Bruin is posting multipoint games. You have Craig Smith looking like he belongs on Boston’s top line, Taylor Hall getting his groove back and potting an OT goal against Nashville, and Matt Grzelcyk scoring 5 points in one game as a defenseman, tying Ray Bourque for the franchise record. Yeah, Ray Bourque. I’m sure as a Boston native, Grzelcyk was glad to hear that.
Seriously, a hockey team is so much more exciting to watch when anyone can score. It doesn’t matter which line is out there for Boston right now. Every line is feeling it which means every line can put it in the back of the net. And that means the Bruins get more points which then means the Bruins have a higher chance of winning. Crazy how that works!
Uhhhhh…That Game Happened
Now it’s time to interrupt this excitement with something that hopefully is not a reality check for Boston. The Hurricanes absolutely torched Boston Tuesday night. No one seemed to be on their game, and the post-game interviews showed that everyone on Boston also thought that. It’s not exactly often when you get 7 goals put on you on home ice.
So, is it time to call the 2022 Bruins a fluke? No, but this game showed Boston’s other biggest flaw, its defense. The Bruins have seemed to fix their secondary scoring issues no doubt, but their defense is still a liability. A fast and skilled team like Carolina can easily exploit the Boston blue-line.
But I do not believe that the Bruins D is in a dire situation following this game. Boston is still a good team that can beat other good teams, their recent stretch of play showed that. I will say though, if Boston does not do something to fix their glaring defensive issues, they might find it hard to continue to beat good teams.
