The Bruins ended their recent home stand with 4 out of 6 possible wins. Pretty good all things considered. But with an OT loss in Colorado on Wendesday, where does Boston go from here?
Is Boston A Complete Team?
Oh boy, here we go. I say that Boston has had a good stretch of play, yet here I am about to complain again. But really though, is Boston a complete team? They have proven that they can beat the top teams in the league like the Preds and the Capitals. But they have also shown huge gaps against teams such as the Hurricanes and the Ducks. That Ducks game on Monday is the only reason why this article has this critical feel to it, honestly. If the Bruins had won I’d probably just say some really biased stuff about how the Florida teams and the Leafs should watch out.
Boston is no doubt a good team, but when comparing them to teams like the Avalanche or the Panthers, it definitely feels like something is missing. In my opinion that missing piece is not leaving a big hole. When head coach Bruce Cassidy changed around Boston’s forward lines, something really clicked. Offensively, not much needs to change for Boston. Even on the defensive side, Boston’s blue line has been suspect at points, but they do have a solid core.
With the trade deadline approaching, Boston can fill that small hole, but where exactly is that hole? In my opinion, it’s the same spot that I’ve talked about time and time again, second-line center. Don’t get me wrong, Erik Haula has done a great job for Boston between Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak. But that is not Haula’s natural position. Bringing in a true 2C would do wonders for Boston. With players such as J.T. Miller and even Claude Giroux presumably on the market this trade deadline, the Bruins have a great chance to truly fill that hole.
Is There Goalie Drama In Boston?
Now I am probably one of the biggest Tuukka Rask supporters out there, but even I have to admit that he has struggled in his first few games back. Linus Ullmark on the other hand has been pretty consistent all season and so was Jeremy Swayman who is now in Providence. Did the Bruins try to fix a problem that did not exist by bringing in Tuukka?
The answer to that question is no. Tuukka is fine. He had not played hockey in almost a year and he also was coming off of surgery. There really is no reason to say that there is currently a goalie conflict. Worst case scenario for Boston is that Ullmark just plays more games than Rask, which really is not a bad thing.
Honestly, this situation reminds me of the Red Sox pitching rotation last season. You had their ace, Chris Sale, come back off of surgery and look shakey sometimes. Meanwhile, Nathan Eovaldi was consistently pitching very well and arguably was Boston’s top ace. Right now, Tuukka is Sale and Ullmark is Eovaldi. And if you watched the Red Sox this year you know having two players of that caliber on your team is a very good thing.
Taylor Hall: Guilty or Not Guilty?
With what happened on Wednesday in Colorado, I feel like I definitely have to talk about it. Taylor Hall was originally given a major penalty after hitting Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, who had a broken nose as a result. Hall’s penalty was subsequently reduced to a minor, but that was not the end of the debate over the hit.
Now I was listening to this play over the radio, so I did not see it in real-time but watching replays, it’s very clear that it was just an unfortunate play. Most of the damage was caused by MacKinnon’s own stick. You never want to see a player go down like that, especially when it’s one of the NHL’s biggest stars. But at the end of the day, hockey is a contact sport. These things happen.
The only reason why people are talking about this as much as they are is because of who went down. Nathan MacKinnon is such a huge part of the Avs, and no matter what was called people would be talking about this hit. But in reality, McKinnon will be fine and most likely will wear a bubble for a bit. So in conclusion, Taylor Hall is not guilty. Well, he did get a penalty, but he’s not guilty of a suspendable penalty.
