After sputtering through a five-game homestand before the three-day Holiday Break, the Boston Bruins were hoping the break was coming at the right time to hit the reset button. The first test on a five-game road trip began against the hottest team in the NHL heading into the break, the Buffalo Sabres.
Yes, you’re reading that right, the hottest team heading into the break was the Buffalo Sabres, winners of seven straight. As it turned out, the break didn’t do a thing to break the Sabres’ momentum, nor did it do anything to stop the Bruins’ fall in the standings.
After grabbing a 1-0 lead on a David Pastrnak first-period goal, the Black and Gold fell apart in six minutes early in the second period, allowing three goals in under six minutes, which turned into a 4-1 loss. The setback was the fifth straight for Boston, and their free fall down the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings continued.
Pavel Zacha has a stern warning following Bruins fifth straight loss
It was another frustrating night for Boston. They were badly outshot, 34-22, but it wasn’t as close as it may seem. They registered nine shots on the net in the opening period, but just four over the next 30 minutes. That is very hard to do at any level of hockey. That is, however, the state of the Boston Bruins’ offense right now. After the game, veteran Pavel Zacha had a warning for his teammates as the road trip shifts to Western Canada beginning Monday night against the Calgary Flames.
“Our division is so close. We have to really start winning games, and this is something we have to focus on moving forward,” Zacha said. “It just wasn’t good enough today. So we have to really figure out how to respond to this loss.”
If they don’t figure it out and figure it out quickly, then they are going to find themselves in the basement of the division. That could come as early as Sunday night, as a Toronto Maple Leafs win against the Detroit Red Wings bumps Marco Sturm to the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
Is the Bruins falling to the bottom of the standings really a bad thing? This team is not a Stanley Cup contender, and truth be told, they’re a first-round sweep or a first-round gentlemen’s sweep in the postseason waiting to happen. They’re not winning a round. They’re not built to win in the regular season, never mind the playoffs.