The Boston Bruins were able to win on Tuesday night but it wasn’t pretty. If Boston wants to be a Stanley Cup contender they need to improve.
In the month of March, the B’s were 6-4-3. That’s a pretty mediocre record for a team with the expectations of Boston. They are expected to compete for a Stanley Cup each and every year.
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Now the Bruins do deserve some slack. They have had to deal with a ton of injuries. Players such as Jeremy Lauzon and Brandon Carlo have just made their return to the lineup. Boston is also still missing players such as Jake DeBrusk and Tuukka Rask.
But the Bruins have made some mistakes. They have simply not shown up for games and have looked flat. Some players are not meeting expectations and making major mistakes. It just hasn’t been pretty.
So these are the three players who need to step up for Boston.
Boston Bruins: 3 players who need to step up – No.3: Trent Frederic
This isn’t easy to type out, but Trent Frederic needs to step up.
Frederic has done a good job. He has shown that he belongs in the NHL and has a spot cemented on the roster. The problem is that Frederic has strayed away from his game.
In 32 games, Frederic has four goals and an assist. For a bottom six player, that’s not terrible but also not great.
In Frederic’s last five games he has not scored with Boston’s latest game against New Jersey being one of his worst in recent time.
The issue for Frederic is that he has strayed away from his game. It’s like he started scoring some goals and forget what he is here to do.
Frederic is supposed to be a physical player. He doesn’t need to drop the gloves every game, but he needs to bring an aura of being pesty and intense to the game.
Against New Jersey, Brad Marchand was forced to get physical and drop the gloves which is almost unacceptable. Marchand needs to be on the ice scoring goals not risking injury by fighting.
So Frederic needs to step up and be the player that the Bruins need him to be. He needs to be physical and annoy opposing players. If not, Boston could find themselves struggling and even possibly missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2021.
Boston Bruins: 3 players who need to step up – No.2: Jeremy Lauzon
At the start of the season, Jeremy Lauzon seemed like he was on his way to a surprisingly good season. He was doing well and getting some time as a top pairing defenseman.
But Lauzon got injured and has now just come back from his injury. Now he is making some mistakes that are just unacceptable.
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Lauzon won’t be known for his scoring. He doesn’t even have a goal and only three assists this season.
But the most important thing is that Lauzon has been making some poor turnovers. He has made poor decisions and just hasn’t been great.
Lauzon’s primary focus should be simply staying at home and being a solid defenseman. He needs to have good positioning and also be physical. Lauzon needs to make the right decisions and make life easier for whoever is between the pipes.
So Lauzon needs to be a better defenseman and make smarter plays if Boston wants to be successful. If he continues to struggle, Don Sweeney might start to feel the fire under his seat.
Boston Bruins: 3 players who need to step up – No.1: David Krejci
When it comes to David Krejci, he hasn’t exactly had a terrible season for the Bruins. The center has been able to make some plays, but Krejci needs to be better.
This season, Krejci only has one goal but 20 assists. Again this is good but not good enough for the 34-year-old.
Krejci needs to start scoring. The fact that he is Boston’s second line center and only has one goal is appalling. If the Bruins are going to succeed they need Krejci to start scoring. Making plays by distributing the puck is not good enough.
There is an increasing likelihood that Krejci ends up leaving Boston at the end of the season. If he doesn’t start improving he doesn’t justify his salary. The Bruins have the young talent to replace him if that ends up happening.
If Krejci wants to spend his entire career in Boston, he needs to start playing better and start scoring. If he does, he might even lift the Stanley Cup once again.