Boston Bruins: The B’s continue to crumble

The Boston Bruins lost their third game in a row. With every loss, the Bruins chances of securing home ice throughout the playoffs dwindle.

The Boston Bruins are having a mini end of the season collapse. It’s not the same as when they ended up missing the playoffs two years ago, but the Bruins may miss their chance at first place in the Eastern Conference after their loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

The Bruins are even with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They both have played 80 games, and are tied at 110 points. The Lightning play on Friday, with the Bruins playing on Saturday. The Bruins are going to have to get it together if they want to have home-ice throughout the playoffs.

Donato continues to dazzle

Ryan Donato has been great for the Bruins ever since he was called up to the team. He is very skilled in the offensive zone and on Thursday night he showed fans that he can fight in the dirty areas as well.

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With the Bruins on the powerplay, Donato was standing in front of the net. He was getting bodied by a Panthers defenseman, but Donato maintained his position and was able to put home a rebound for his 5th goal of the season.

The Bruins are a deep team, but I don’t see how Donato is left off of the playoff roster. He has proven that he has a knack for scoring goals, and already has built some great chemistry with teammates.

Heinen headed in the right direction

Danton Heinen seemed to be slumping as of late. In his last 27 games, Heinen had only scored 2 goals and 5 assists. Heinen appears to be headed in the right direction after his performance on Thursday.

David Krejci sent Heinen a beautiful pass, and Heinen snapped a wrist shot past Roberto Luongo for his 15th goal of the season. Heinen has been great for the Bruins this season. Hopefully this will jumpstart his offense as him and the Bruins head into the playoffs.

Rask gets back on track

It was a rough night for Tuukka Rask the last time he was on the ice. He would give up 4 goals to the Lightning in a rough game overall for the Bruins. On Thursday, Rask looked like a goaltender that can win some games for the Bruins in the postseason.

Rask stopped 32 shots and kept the Bruins in the game late in the 3rd period. He stopped three breakaways late in the game to keep the Bruins chances of winning alive. Things will be a lot easier for the Bruins in the playoffs if Rask can come up clutch like he did in the 3rd period.

Bonus: Congrats Marchy!

Congratulations are in order as Brad Marchand played his 600th game with the Boston Bruins. It seemed like the Florida fans didn’t get the memo because at the end of the game they threw rats on the ice. Marchand is my favorite player on the team, and even though he is a pest, he’s our pest. He also is one of the best goal scorers in the league which is a dangerous duo.

Next: The race for 1st place just got a whole lot tighter

The Boston Bruins need to right the ship soon. They have an opportunity on Saturday when they play the Ottawa Senators.