After optimism reigned just a few short weeks ago when the Bruins were riding a season-high seven-game win streak, things have gotten downright nasty in the mailbag following a stretch with just one win in the next seven games. I don't know if I'll be able to allay any of the fears the club's recent performances have brought forth, but I'll do my best to answer as many of your questions as possible in this week's edition of the Bruins Mailbag.
As always, I'd like to thank all the readers who sent in questions for this edition of the mailbag, and apologize in advance if I wasn't able to get to yours. Please keep submitting your questions and I'll get to as many of them as I can as we head down the home stretch of the season.
1. Big fan of yours Douglas. First time poster. Simply, why are the Bruins failing lately? I understand that teams have ups and downs, but their recent play is such a contrast to how they were playing only a few weeks ago on their road trip. It doesn't even seem to be a gradual change, rather like a switch has been flicked. If the cause can be or has been identified, what steps can be taken to improve it? Who can be held accountable?
— James Marando, Canberra, Australia
Nice to know I've got a fan from Down Under. The Bruins' play of late certainly has been disconcerting, and I think you're right in the fact that it appears even worse coming on the heels of such a good stretch during that seven-game win streak. I don't think there is just one thing to point to as a cause for the recent struggles. It's really a combination of a number of factors that all have to be addressed in this final handful of games before the playoffs. The dismal work on the power play has obviously drawn a lot of scrutiny, but the Bruins have also struggled on the penalty kill and been spending much more time in the box (six goals allowed on 29 chances in this seven-game swoon after just two goals on 16 chances in the seven-game win streak). The defense has become suddenly porous (27 goals in last seven games after just 10 in previous seven) and the offense remains stagnant other than the top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. Even the goaltending has come back to earth after Tim Thomas' historic start to the season. The good news is that these are all areas the Bruins have shown they can be better in during the course of this season. Whether they can regain that form in all those areas in time for the playoffs is the big question.
2. Do you think it's time for the Bruins to start looking for another coach? As a fan who pays attention to on-ice matchups, it sure seems that our fourth line is constantly getting matched up against our opponent's first line. Have you noticed that or am I being too critical? [Claude] Julien also doesn't seem to have answer for the dismal power play. Defensive system allows too much time and space for offensive players in our defensive zone which translates into too many quality shots on goal from players entering zone late.
— Plonskiwest, Frustrated California transplant.
Lots of questions this week about Julien's status. I hate to break it to all of you, but he's not going anywhere this season. The Bruins aren't going to pull a Lou Lamoriello and fire a coach of a first-place team in the final weeks of the season. It's just not going to happen. Nor should it. Yes, the club is in a horrible slump right now and there isn't a lot of time to get it turned around before the playoffs. Of course, there's also nowhere near enough time to bring in a new coach and try to implement a new system or style of play, but that sort of logic doesn't dissuade the Julien bashers. Despite what those detractors may feel, Julien is a solid coach and while he deserves his share of the blame for the current skid as well as the club's recent playoff disappointments, he also has to get his share of credit for helping turn the Bruins into a perennial playoff club and having them in first place in the division again this year.
As to your specific points, the Bruins' fourth line isn't the typical NHL fourth line. While there's toughness there with Shawn Thornton, he can also play the game, while Greg Campbell and Brad Marchand, Daniel Paille or whoever else is on that opposite wing is a solid defensive forward. That line is more like the traditional checking line of old, and as such I don't have a problem seeing them out opposite scoring lines on occasion. Julien has also been more willing to shorten his bench late in close games, so those guys aren't out there often against top lines, or any lines, in crunch time anymore. The power play is an issue that needs to be solved. The Bruins seem too enamored with trying to force the puck to Tomas Kaberle and they need to do more to create chances down low. Julien has been shaking up the personnel on the power-play units, even using Tyler Seguin up front as many have called for in the comments here, so we'll see if that helps improve things. And while the defensive play has been suspect at times in this recent skid, the Bruins are still a solid defensive team with the fewest goals allowed in the Eastern Conference. That's one area I'm not too worried about. Julien's squads have always been strong in their own zone, so if there's anything he should be able to fix down the stretch here it's cleaning up those defensive breakdowns.
3. What should the Bruins do to get out of this awful slump? And which team would be best for them to face in the first round?
— Mason
The first part of your question has been touched on already in the above questions. As for the second part, there's not going to be an easy matchup for the Bruins in the opening round. They'd probably fare better if they could get back into the top two and face the Rangers, Buffalo or Carolina at No. 7 or 8. But even those matchups pose risks with the goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Miller and Cam Ward more than capable of stealing a series. I also like Boston's chances against the Lightning. Even though Tampa Bay has a deep and dangerous forward corps, its goaltending isn't quite as imposing (though Dwayne Roloson is still a threat) and the Bruins have had success against them this year. Montreal is the most worrisome as the Bruins have struggled to contain the Habs' speed and with the emotions that would be involved in that series, anything could happen. I also wouldn't be overly confident if they somehow ended up in a 4-5 series with Pittsburgh, though I suppose if they have to play the Pens at some point, it's probably best to get them in the opening round when Matt Cooke can't play.
4. If [Tim] Thomas can't return to his stellar form from the beginning to middle of the season, do you think Tuukka [Rask] and Thomas will split the playoff games? It only seems logical. It seems that Claude [Julien] is trying to go with Tuukka on the road and Thomas at home during this recent long road trip and few games in between where we rarely get a home game.
— Sal DiStefano, Medford
I don't think you can go with two goalies in the playoffs, not in this era anyway. I know the Bruins had some success alternating goalies in the past with Gerry Cheevers and Ed Johnston and then Gilles Gilbert in the 1970s and again with Andy Moog and Reggie Lemelin in the late 80s, but I don't think that approach works in today's game. I'm not sure either Thomas or Rask would respond well to splitting time, as both play their best when they get regular work and can stay in a rhythm. Even with his play slipping a bit of late, this is Thomas' team this year. He's earned that with his play so far (he does still lead the NHL in GAA and save percentage after all) and the Bruins have to ride him as far as they can in the playoffs. Other than an injury, the only way I see the Bruins changing goalies in the playoffs is out of desperation if Thomas really struggles for a few games. But if you make that switch, you have to stick with Rask from there. You can't go back and forth between goalies and expect to go far in the playoffs.
5. With the Bruins' recent slide, do you think the trades made before the deadline have screwed up the chemistry of the team?
— Chris Long
There's no doubt that the return on those deals to this point has been very disappointing. Going into Tuesday's game, Kaberle, Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly had combined for just two goals and nine points in 38 games between them with Boston. That's certainly not the kind of production the Bruins paid for with the steep price of giving up first- and second-round picks, Joe Colborne, Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler. The biggest price was paid for Kaberle, who was supposed to improve the power play. Instead, the Bruins are 2-for-34 on the man-advantage in the 13 games he's played. I'm not sure it's a chemistry issue though, at least not off the ice. All three players have fit in well in the locker room and been welcomed by the rest of the team. Stuart and Wheeler were popular players and are certainly missed, but their departure is not a big enough disruption to explain the club's sudden swoon. And remember also that the seven-game win streak coincided with the deals, so the new guys were a part of those good times as well. On the ice, the chemistry has been slower to develop. That's something the Bruins have to hope will come with time, but they don't have a lot of time to wait for those three to start clicking with their new linemates and defense partners.
6. I do not see the Bruins winning anything this year, including the division. Do you see them making major changes this summer?
— Ken O'Connell, Charlton
Well, at least you're maintaining that positive attitude. I'm not willing to concede the division title just yet. That can certainly change with what happens this week, especially in the head-to-head matchup with Montreal on Thursday. But going into Tuesday, the Bruins were still leading the Habs by a point with two games in hand. The division title isn't the goal though. This team needs to go deep in the playoffs. If they don't, then I do think there will have to be some major changes over the summer, and no one — on the ice, behind the bench or in the front office — should feel too comfortable if the Bruins make another early exit in the postseason.
7. Why doesn't the NHL change Rule 48 to include 'the player that causes the injury will sit for as long as the injured player and have their salary docked?'
— John Cerulli
While on the surface there would seem to be some justice in such a proposal, it's a really problematic way to handle suspensions. I think the NHL already gives too much weight to the results of illegal hits rather than the intent or the danger posed by such hits. Your proposal would punish players excessively in cases where the intent to injure was not necessarily there, but the results were far more serious. By the same token, it would also let players off the hook when they actually were trying to hurt someone and the victim was fortunate enough to avoid serious injury. If your proposal was in place, Matt Cooke wouldn't have missed a game because Ryan McDonagh was not hurt by Cooke's elbow. But that play certainly warranted a long suspension. Or what happens if a star player injures someone in a less significant role on a divisional rival's roster? Could that other team simply hold out their "injured" player longer to make sure the star doesn't get back in the lineup? I think the NHL needs to get tougher in punishing dangerous hits to the head and Cooke's suspension was a decent start, but I don't think tying the length of suspensions to how long a player is sidelined is a good idea.
8. What the heck is going on with our Bruins? I never thought the "hit" in Montreal would affect the whole team!
— Jamie Aubin
I'm not sure how much of the recent struggles have been a result of the fallout from Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty, but the Bruins have played a lot less physical of late. And this team is far less effective when they are not playing physical hockey and getting emotionally involved in the game. There may be some hesitancy on the Bruins' part in the wake of that incident, and Thursday's game against Montreal will really tell the tale with how aggressive they're willing to be in the rematch. There's also no denying that things have been called a bit tighter since that game. The game that immediately followed that contest certainly appeared that way, as the Bruins were called for eight minor penalties against the Sabres, several of which were very questionable. So there may have been a bit of an overreaction by the officials to make sure nothing got out of hand again in the Bruins' games after that incident, but the Bruins still need to find a way to battle through that and play their game. They can be aggressive without committing penalties and need to find that balance to snap out of this recent slump.
To submit a question to Douglas Flynn for future mailbags, click here or contact him on Twitter at @douglasflynn.
