January has been the best month so far for the Bruins. Going 11-4-1, they were amongst the NHL’s best in terms of performance. But as expected, it can’t last forever. Boston technically is already undefeated in February, but that’s becuase they’ve played one game. And frankly, that win did not feel the best.
Simmering Down
Following an overtime loss to the Avalanche last week, the Bruins just have not felt like the Bruins in their past 3 games. Was it that the loss to Colorado that was deflating? The Bruins did blow a two-goal lead, and the tying goal was scored with almost 30 seconds to go in the third. Not exactly something that you want to see if you’re the Bruins.
Boston’s next three games were against opponents that weren’t the best either. They won 2 out of 3 but those wins against Arizona and Seattle were way closer than they should’ve been. The Bruins did not look like the same team they had been all January. Especially so in Dallas, where they got romped 6-1. It almost felt like whiplash where the team all of a sudden just stopped being fun to watch.
Is It Becuase of Tuukka?
“Da Broons lost those games cuz of Tooka bro I’m tellin’ ya, he’s a cansah to da Broons,” is probably what some guy in a rundown Boston dive bar said at one point last week. Tuukka Rask has not had the best of returns, but it seems to be due to his surgery recovery. The Bruins have had to call Jeremy Swayman back up to Boston due to Tuukka’s injury.
What’s funny though is that this section has this subtitle but Tuukka did not play in any of the last 5 Bruins games. But putting on my anti-Tuukka tinfoil hat, I could point out that Tuukka’s subpar return may have lowered morale. I had talked about before how Tuukka could be a boost to the locker room, but I didn’t talk about how there could be an inverse effect. Seeing a popular guy not do too well doesn’t exactly inspire everyone to do better.
So, Is It Time To Worry?
“It’s ovah, da Broons ah finished. No way da Broons win tha cup,” is also probably something that was said in a rundown Boston dive bar last week. If we were to listen to the opinions of those who frequent those bars though, we’d all say dumb stuff as well. So, as is tradition with article/section titles ending in a question mark, the answer of if it is time for Boston to worry is no.
Teams cool off and don’t play well all the time. I mean look at the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning if you want an example of a good team cooling off. All that matters is that the team does not cool off at the wrong time. And for the Bruins, they probably did it at the right time. The Bruins now will get some time off for the All-Star break and hopefully come back refreshed and in January form.
I mean this already happened this season. The Bruins were not playing very well at all before the December COVID shutdown, but after that break, they tore up January. And the Tuukka Rask conspiracies are all BS. The only reason I talk about them is that I think it’s funny people even subscribe to them. The only hockey conspiracy theories I like are trade rumors, which it is almost the season for. Can’t wait to talk about 4 different players I think the Bruins will trade for and then get none of them.
