The Boston Bruins got their teeth kicked in on Thursday night by the Vancouver Canucks. The B’s need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Well, it looks like the Boston Bruins don’t have a goalie controversy anymore. They don’t even have two capable goaltenders.
Thursday’s game was tough to watch. The Bruins lost 8-5. Yes, you read that right the B’s gave up 8 goals.
This wasn’t just the goaltender’s fault either. It was a bad game all around. I would have loved to see what Bruce Cassidy said to the boys after the game.
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The Bruins seem to be missing someone in their lineup. On Thursday night we saw David Pastrnak get hit high and there wasn’t really any response from Boston.
Yeah, Zdeno Chara gave the Canuck player a light shove, but I can give someone a light shove. You at home can give someone a light shove.
Boston needs an enforcer and without Kevan Miller on the ice, teams seem to have a green light to go at the Bruins stars.
There was some hope as we saw Torey Krug drop the gloves after Joakim Nordstrom got hit upstairs. Krug definitely didn’t win the bout, but he earned some respect and showed that the Bruins won’t be messed with.
So let’s dive in and get to the 3 major takeaways from the Boston Bruins loss on Thursday night.
1. The Boston Bruins goaltenders suck
Before Thursday night fans thought that only one Bruins goaltender was playing poorly. After Thursday nights beating it’s clear that the Bruins have their issues in between the pipes.
Jaroslav Halak started the game, but he wouldn’t end up finishing it. Halak allowed 5 goals and some of them were ugly.
The worst probably was the first goal he allowed. It was such a soft goal. If you are going to get on Tuukka Rask for giving up soft goals you have to do the same for Halak.
Then Rask came into the game late in the 2nd period. He looked like he was going to be a better option. Then Rask once again made some awful decisions and allowed 3 goals.
Now, this is probably an anomaly. I’m not expecting the Bruins to give up 8 goals again anytime soon, but their goaltending needs to be better. You can score plenty of goals, but if you have poor goaltending you are probably going to lose.
2. The Bruins made too many mistakes
One of the main problems for the Bruins was that they made way too many mistakes.
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The first goal of the game may have been a soft goal, but it could’ve been prevented. David Backes misplayed a pass from Danton Heinen and Bo Horvat took advantage to make it a 1-0 game.
Bo Horvat’s 2nd goal of the game was also a lucky one. Horvat skated by 2 Bruins defenders and forced Tuukka Rask to come out of his crease and make a play on the puck (or Rask just decided to go for a walk in the park). Horvat blocked Rask’s pass and scored in the empty net.
Now Rask didn’t just give up the goal. He gave up on the play altogether. At least dive Tuukka and try and make it look like you care.
If you make as many mistakes as the Bruins made last night you aren’t going to win hockey games. It’s as simple as that.
3. The only shining star
There was one shining star on this horrible night. Jake DeBrusk was probably the best Bruin on the ice.
DeBrusk was skating hard and flying all over the ice. He would end up getting rewarded for his effort.
The 2nd year winger scored two goals on Thursday that were both in front of the net. So far this season, DeBrusk has great net presence. He knows how to get in front of the net and deflect the puck into the net.
DeBrusk didn’t get the start to the season that he may have hoped for, but he is getting rewarded for some great play.
It will be interesting to see what Bruce Cassidy does in response to this game. Maybe we will see him play with the lines?
The Bruins have a big matchup coming on Saturday. They face the team they knocked out of the playoffs last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs.