{"id":544644,"date":"2026-04-07T00:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T00:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544644\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T00:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T00:48:15","slug":"theres-not-much-to-like-about-how-the-bruins-are-playing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/544644\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s not much to like about how the Bruins are playing"},"content":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Prior to packing up in Philadelphia on Sunday evening, following a 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers<\/a>, David Pastrnak\u2019s frustration was as strong and targeted as one of his patented one-time slappers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTough to be positive right now,\u201d lamented the star right winger, the Bruins slipping to 0-2-1 on a road trip that wraps up here Tuesday night vs. the Hurricanes. \u201cIt\u2019s been tough, not getting the wins, not playing good hockey. Offensively, we\u2019re struggling. We have to turn it around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The math, despite their recent dip, still strongly favors the Bruins clinching a playoff spot. With four games to go, they have 95 points and a firm grip on the No. 1 wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. No team within threat range had more than 90 points. Could they still miss? Yes. Realistically, though, they\u2019d have to suffer an 0-for-4 wipeout vs. the Hurricanes, Lightning, Blue Jackets, and Devils to be banished again to the DNQ badlands.<\/p>\n

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It is not, to Pastrnak\u2019s point, how they want to be playing when they are this close to locking down a seed after missing out last season.<\/p>\n

They have gone from total mojo with their 10-3-3 month of March, outscoring opponents, 56-46, to shuffling feet around the net the last three games, mustering but single goals vs. the Panthers, Lightning, and Flyers.<\/p>\n

They landed a meager 19 shots on net in Philadelphia, only the sixth time this season they failed to reach 20. Shot volume isn\u2019t always an indicator of how a team is playing, or how effectively it is generating scoring chances, but Sunday it indeed was fair measure of a team that looked tired, and failed to summon the necessary jam to attack the paint and manufacture chances.<\/p>\n

At this stage of the season, the NHL is a hard-hat work area. The Bruins need to readjust to the dress code.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are looking now for a lot of quality shots instead of quantity,\u201d offered Pavel Zacha, whose power-play goal, his career-high 11th, squared the score early in the third period against the Flyers. \u201cSometimes, when it\u2019s not going our way, we kind of have to switch our mind-set, go to the net, shoot more pucks. We talk about it. We just don\u2019t do it in the games yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

If they want to make the playoffs, added Zacha, and that remains the raison d\u2019etre, \u201cWe have to do that \u2014 have more shots, more tips. Those are the things, when we are [playing] really well, we have a lot of shots, a lot of tips, at five-on-five especially. I think it\u2019s a mind-set thing to be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to find ways,\u201d added coach Marco Sturm<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re still passing up opportunities for some reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sturm\u2019s fundamental change against the Flyers had the struggling Morgan Geekie (now 17 games without a goal) back on the No. 1 line with Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve played together so much hockey,\u201d said Pastrnak, acknowledging the comfort level the three have. \u201cGeeks is a hell of a skater and goal scorer. We need to get him going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geekie, without a goal since March 5, remained stymied. He had the game on his stick in OT, wheeled alone into the mid-slot, only to have his sizzling wrister go slightly over the crossbar. Such is a scoring slump. Together, though, the trio amassed 15 of the club\u2019s 48 shot attempts on goalie Dan Vladar. Pastrnak (4) and Geekie (2) landed six. <\/p>\n

Sturm, as he left to catch the club\u2019s charter flight, sounded encouraged but was not sure if he would return with the same lines vs. the Hurricanes. His moves Sunday also had Fraser Minten pivoting a speed line, flanked by Marat Khusnutdinov and Lukas Reichel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to look at it again,\u201d said Sturm. \u201cSleep on it. We all need a day off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Black-and-Gold fans wonder if summoning James Hagens from AHL Providence as a rookie offensive rainmaker is what\u2019s needed. The ex-Boston College standout has produced a goal and three assists in his six games with the WannaB\u2019s. It\u2019s raining, not pouring.<\/p>\n

Sturm, when I asked him pregame Sunday about Hagens, emphasized that he is pleased with the 19-year-old\u2019s career path and progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in this league and it\u2019s a hard league,\u201d said the coach, who was 19 when he debuted as a Sharks forward in 1997. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy for James, but he\u2019s grinding away and trying to figure out how to have success in this league, so it\u2019s good, that\u2019s why I like it. He\u2019s not like other guys who want to be in the NHL right away. I like how James is handling it, gets to the minors, puts in the work, and I love him.\u201d <\/p>\n

In Hagens, said Sturm, he sees a very skilled player \u201cobviously,\u201d one who played the power play at BC.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut again, it\u2019s a different game [in college],\u201d noted Sturm. \u201cThat\u2019s why I like him, he\u2019s playing against men now. It\u2019s harder. It\u2019s tighter. I saw him last week. We had a good talk. No, it\u2019s good for him. I look at the big picture and he\u2019s in the right spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game No. 79 of 82 is Tuesday. The Bruins find themselves in a decent spot, while recognizing the need to make it better.<\/p>\n

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Prior to packing up in Philadelphia on Sunday evening, following a 2-1 overtime loss to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5099],"tags":[154,95,5132,530,5,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-544644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-bruins","8":"tag-boston","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-bostonbruins","11":"tag-bruins","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116360675481113540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}