The Bruins are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL and Friday was a painfully clear example why. For most of the game, they outplayed the best team in the Northeast Division, and while they were facing one of the best goalies in the NHL, their effort warranted at least a point. The fact that they didn’t get that point has to be worrisome, as the Bruins fall deeper into the quicksand that is the tail-end of the Eastern Conference playoff race.
With each game, it is becoming clearer that this team needs an offensive spark and it doesn’t appear to be coming from this current lineup. Marc Savard was his usual self in his first game back since Jan. 7, assisting on Milan Lucic’s goal, but it wasn’t enough. Surely the impending return of Marco Sturm will help this anemic offense, but it’s almost February, and if there aren’t signs that this offense can jell soon and resemble the group that had the second-best record in the NHL last season, changes will be coming.
Savard proved on Friday that he won’t take long to get back in the groove and Lucic seems to be on his way as well. But what about the other wing on that line? Miroslav Satan played well but not good enough, and he hasn’t exactly been the answer yet. Sturm will obviously get his chance to play a role in trying to get the offense back on track, but once again, where was Michael Ryder on Friday night? His linemates, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci, looked good — the former continuing to be more of a net-front presence with every game — but Ryder is almost invisible out there.
The Bruins' defense looked amazing compared to its performance in a forgettable 5-1 defeat at Carolina last Sunday, but one flaw that continues to remain is that the D is not clearing the lanes for its goalies in front. Yes, the rules prevent defensemen from being physical in front of the net, but there is no way Thomas Vanek should be able to score what proved to be the winning goal with Zdeno Chara covering him. Chara needs to get creative there and find a way to use his size to clear out Vanek.
Tuukka Rask cannot really be blamed for the Vanek goal, or for the Henrik Tallinder snipe that he was also screened on — but he has lost four straight, and it’s time for him or Tim Thomas to start stealing some games. If it means finding those pucks through a screen, then so be it, but with no offense, the Bruins need goaltending reminiscent of the goaltending Thomas provided the last time the Bruins battled down the stretch, which led to a playoff berth in 2008.
That 2008 stretch run is exactly what this team is going to need if it wants to be playing for the Stanley Cup in April — and more and more, it appears that some outside help will be required for such a run.
