David Backes out, Malcolm Subban in Net, Bruins get demolished at Home by the Wild
The Boston Bruins lose at home to the Minnesota Wild 5-0, falling to 3-3, with a plus minus differential of -3. David Backes was out with a minor injury, and both the starting goalie Tuuka Rask was out and the backup Anton Khudobin was out, Malcolm Subban the "star prospect" at goaltender made his second career NHL start. Much like his first career NHL start it went horribly, Subban let up the first goal on a trickle shot through his pads that he should have stopped. Then Bruins defensively broke down, and Bergeron normally one of their best players was way out of position behind the net, likely overcompensating because the Bruins defense had not won a single puck battle all night. This bad positioning was emphasized by a unlucky bounce to a wide open Cris Stewart who had Subban dead to rights and drilled in a goal that any dude in my men's hockey beer league could have scored. After letting up his third goal, Subban was pulled because it was a routine shot from the point that any NHL level goaltender should easily save. So Subban was out of the game by halfway through the 2nd period, despite getting his second shot at the NHL level, Subban played so horrible he got pulled halfway through the game. It is not entirely the goalie's fault as the second goal was on the defense, but he let up two very soft goals in half a game.
In the second Period the Bruins did their normal unraveling, falling behind again, and this time they didn't keep the levy from breaking as the Wild put up four goals in the 2nd period, a period that has been horrible for the Bruins so far this season. The Game shifted in my estimation in the 2nd period when the game was tied 0-0, and the Bruins got a power play that resulted in only one shot on net.
The Boston Bruins Power Play Woes
The Boston Bruins are ranked 28th on the Power Play, out of 30 teams, with a team that has a good offense, so why can't they score on the PP? It is the same reason my Dad used to scream at me from the stands at 6 am:
SKATE!
Goddamn, I mean really. How do the Bruins expect to score any goals on the power play when every time they get the puck in the offensive zone, everyone without the puck is standing still? Every heard of creating movement? Supporting the pass? Do we really have to explain these basics of ice hockey to professional athletes? I guess the answer is yes, because since Claude Julien has been the coach of the Bruins, this has been the same recurring problem, no matter who is on the roster with the power play. They have one of the worst coached, worst designed power plays in the NHL. It literally must look like this when they draw it up:
Bruins Defense Needs to Win Puck Battles
The Bruins defense man last night, played like crap. They lost basically every defensive zone puck battle, and when you let up five goals in any game, the defense is to blame. Chara looked old and slow, Krug looked small and was beaten on every 50-50 puck battle. Adam Mcquaid in his valiant return was a -3, but did lead the defense in hits and snarly looks lulz. John Michael Liles played like crap, and got drilled then took a frustration penalty because he didn't like getting hit cleanly. It was a bad night for the Bruins blue line.
The only Bright Spot was the play of the Fourth Liners
Riley Nash, Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari played pretty well, and for a fourth line brought a lot to the table. Schaller won a nice fight to start the game out, see below video. The Bruins other lines were all negative on the night, none of them played to their potential level.
Conclusion
The Bruins problems in net were highlighted by this game. The second line without Backes who has been carrying it so far this season was atrocious, Krecji played like crap again. Putting Beleskey on that line did nothing to help. The Bruins defense got beaten to too many loose pucks, and the Bruins as a team lost way too many 1 on 1 puck battles. The compete level was not there, playing at home for the Bruins means there is no excuse for the level of effort seen in that game. This is why I do not think this Bruins team are a playoff team, there will be too many games like last night. The Bruins are two games away from being 10% into the season, and so far the Bruins have been a mess defensively and in net, and had a few games where the offense clicked against weak teams and they were able to pull out wins.
Image Credit
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Screenshot 1 from NHL.com Stats
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