Boston Bruins: 5 major problems for 2018-19 team

Sam Minton

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 21: Chris Wagner #14 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his third period goal with teammates while playing the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on November 21, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Boston Bruins are a talented team, but they have issues they need to fix if they want to make a run in the postseason.

I don’t know why the Boston Bruins like to torture us. Some games they will look like they are the best team in the NHL, and then others they look like they forget they even had a game.

Especially this year this is something that can’t be happening. The Atlantic Division, as well as the entire Eastern Conference, is stacked with talent. Boston can’t afford to lose games against marginal talent. They need to rack up as many points as possible.

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Right now the Bruins are quickly falling out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. They are 7th in the conference, but the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders are right behind them. Who would have thought we would be saying that before the season started?

If the Bruins don’t figure things out they will put themselves in too deep of a hole. If Boston is out of contention heading into the All-Star break it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight. They would need a great stretch of play to get a playoff spot.

Boston is far from a perfect team. There may not be one in the entire NHL, but Boston needs to dust themselves off and get their head in the game.

So let’s get right to it. Here are the 5 major problems that the Boston Bruins need to fix.

1. The Boston Bruins have a goaltending problem

Ben Franklin said that there were two certainties in life, Death and Taxes. I would like to make an addition to that statement. It seems like the Boston Bruins will always have goaltending issues.

Once again Tuukka Rask had a rough start to the season. He looked completely out of it. If any other goaltender had performed as Rask did early on in the season they would have gotten sent down.

While Rask was struggling Jaroslav Halak looked great and was dominating teams. Now it seems like both guys are struggling at the same exact time. Just what Bruins fans want to hear.

Boston has given up 5 goals in 2 straight games. That is absolutely unacceptable.

The Bruins need to figure this issue out quickly. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak need to figure out whatever is wrong or else it will be a long rest of the season for Bruins fans.

2. Staying Healthy

This issue may not be the Bruins fault necessarily but it has definitely affected the team. Boston has had to deal with a ton of injuries already this season.

Even at the beginning of the year, the Bruins weren’t completely healthy, Torey Krug missed the beginning of the season after getting injured in the preseason.

Then it just seemed to be a snowball effect. Boston picked up injury after injury. I thought they were going to start calling people down from the crowd to play at one point.

Now if your 4th liners are getting hurt it isn’t that big of a deal, but Boston was without some of their top players for a significant amount of time. I truly don’t know how the team survived without Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara on the ice.

So even though this issue isn’t preventable, the Bruins need to stay relatively healthy for the rest of the season.

3. The Bruins are too top heavy

The Boston Bruins are able to score, but it mostly comes from one line. That is good, but it puts a lot of pressure on the Bruins first line.

Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have combined for more than 40 percent of Boston’s scoring output.

Now, this is definitely great. David Pastrnak is having the best season of his career. He leads the team in goals and is 2nd in assists. If Pastrnak can continue to score at this rate he might be a finalist for the Hart Trophy.

The Boston Bruins first line could use some help. They can’t be relied upon to kickstart the scoring each and every night. Everyone has their bad nights so other players need to step up and lend a hand.

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This point actually leads into the Bruins next problem which has more to do with strategy and coaching than actual play.

4. Bruce Cassidy needs to be more creative with the lines

One of the reasons that the Bruins are too top heavy is because of their lines.

5. Not showing up

When the Bruins put in a 100 percent effort they usually end up winning games. In the NHL when you give any less it is hard to walk out of the arena with a victory.

I don’t know what it is about the Bruins, but some nights it seems like they forgot they had a game. They play sloppy, skate poorly, and struggle to keep the puck out of the net.

This happened in the Bruins most recent game. They got outplayed by a last-place New Jersey Devils squad that was without Taylor Hall on Thursday night. this can’t be happening.

Every single night the Bruins need to be driving opposing players through the boards and peppering the goaltender with shots.

This Boston Bruins team has the talent to be successful. If they are able to fix these issues it will be a fun year for fans. Who knows maybe we will have another championship parade?

Sam Minton

Sam Minton is a graduate of Salem State University where he majored in Communications with a concentration in Journalism. He is a passionate sports fan with his favorite teams being the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, New England Revolution and New York Yankees.