Boston Bruins: Team treading water after Game 5 loss

Why the Boston Bruins struggled

The Bruins went into Game 5 knowing that their offense had to improve. Well, improve it did, but it seems that defense went totally by the wayside.

I already commented on the Bruins penalty killing last night, but the overall effort just wasn’t there. The Bruins were slow getting to pucks, made mistakes and turned the puck over countless times in the defensive zone, and basically did all they could to keep the Islanders in the game.

Regardless of who starts Game 6, that kind of effort will earn Boston an early offseason. Between Rask being injured, Swayman being untested, and the Bruins defense missing Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller – who have both been ruled out for Game 6 – the Bruins need to rally around them and make a better effort to protect their zone.

Also, I challenge you to find a Bruins fan that feels confident when the third or fourth line is on the ice. The bottom two lines are a combined -14 in this series and need I remind you that only five games have been played.

They also only have two points between all six of them. They can’t score and they can’t defend. They simply cannot hang with the New York Islanders.

Whether that’s a matchup issue that Cassidy needs to fix or just an unfortunate reality, it doesn’t really matter. When those two lines are in the game, it’s time to hang on for dear life until the real players can come back in.

However, I believe in ending things on a positive note, so just remember that we can complain about the Bruins being a two-line team now instead of just a one-line team. Baby steps, people.