But the Bruins rattled off four wins in the final five games of their opening-round series against Montreal, including a Game 7 overtime thriller at the Garden. Now they are right back where they were a year ago, facing the Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
That gives the Bruins a chance to atone for last year's devastating loss when they squandered a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7 at the Garden before falling to the Flyers. Will this year's matchup produce a better result? That's just one of the topics covered in the latest edition of the Bruins Mailbag.
As always, I've done my best to answer as many of your questions as possible in this week's mailbag. I'd like to thank all the readers who sent in questions 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 continue on in the postseason.
1. I know that you said that the Bruins' PP issues can be solved with effort, but couldn't switching up the units also be helpful? I know CJ [Claude Julien] did switch things up by putting Z [Zdeno Chara] and Sides [Dennis Seidenberg] together, but that didn't help us out either.
— bruinsfan33, Melrose, MA
A better effort is the starting point, but not the only thing needed to solve the Bruins' power-play woes. Switching up the personnel could help, but Julien has tried just about every combination available and I'm not sure it's a matter of who is on those units as much as how they are employed. The Bruins need to get more creative on the man-advantage. They've become predictable and that is too easy to defend, especially over the course of a long playoff series when the opposing penalty killers become accustomed to your tactics. Julien and his assistants need to find some creative ways to present some new looks. I know many have called for Tyler Seguin to be given a look but I'm not sure I would upset the chemistry of the lines at even strength by inserting him into the lineup. And frankly, I'm not convinced he would have much of an impact at this point after managing just one goal and two points in his last 20 games. How does anyone expect him to suddenly start piling up points now with the games even more intense in the playoffs?
A better solution might be to finally try Chara in front. His booming shot from the point produces more caroms off the end boards than chances at rebounds or deflections, but his size in front screening the goalie could be more dangerous. I also wouldn't mind seeing Brad Marchand getting another look on the power play or even putting Nathan Horton back on that unit now that he's scored a couple of clutch goals and his confidence is soaring. But whatever tweaks the Bruins do try, it does all start with effort. Having an extra man on the ice only helps when those five guys are outworking the four trying to defend them.
2. Do you think the Bruins' office is happy with [Tomas] Kaberle? I for one think they gave up too much for him. He has barely helped this team. After watching his lack of back checking last night, it's hard to feel that they will re-sign him. As far as I'm concerned, he is hardly ever physical and is overrated and overpaid!
— Matt, Leominster, MA
I'm not sure how anybody could be happy with how Kaberle has played since coming to Boston. I never saw the allure when I watched him play for Toronto, but I still expected him to be more productive than what he's shown so far as a Bruin. He certainly hasn't lived up to expectations in Boston, and even Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli admitted as much last week in a interview on The Sports Hub. "Has he been a disappointment? He hasn't played up to the level that we expected," Chiarelli said. "We expected better."
Kaberle has just one goal in 31 games in Boston between the regular season and playoffs. He was brought in to help improve the power play. Instead, it has gone 7-for-87 (8.0 percent) since his arrival, including 0-for-21 in the first round against Montreal. Barring a miraculous turnaround in the remainder of the postseason or a willingness to sign for a lot less than expected, I have a hard time seeing the Bruins use up the precious cap space it will take to keep him here beyond this year. It was a gamble to give up as much as they did for him, but I do applaud the Bruins for making the effort to acquire a piece to put them over the top, even if it appears that piece is not a fit here. The real price of the deal will come once it's seen how Joe Colborne and the 2011 first-round pick the Bruins gave up develop in the coming years, but the Bruins had the depth in forward prospects and picks to take the chance and should be able to survive the loss of those assets.
3. Hey Doug, I was wondering if you think [Nathan] Horton has finally settled in to this Bruins' system as you could tell he was having a tough time during the regular season. So do you think Nathan Horton has found his game with the Bruins and what is your prediction for this upcoming Flyers-Bruins series?
— David Creed
I don't think Horton's struggles in the middle of the season were really a reflection of his having any difficulty adjusting to the Bruins' system. I think it was more of just a slump that he finally worked his way out of. He opened the season on fire with 18 points in his first 17 games, and certainly didn't appear to be struggling with the system then. The next couple months were a different story, but linemates David Krejci and Milan Lucic also struggled in that stretch. Horton did finish strong with 14-11-25 totals in the final 32 games of the regular season and he certainly adjusted well to his first taste of playoff action with three goals, including two overtime winners, against Montreal. The Bruins still need to get Krejci and Lucic going again, but Horton has seemingly found his game again and has been playing well for quite a while now.
As for this series, it's a very difficult one to call because I think the teams are very evenly matched. I see it being another seven-game slugfest. Right now I think the Bruins can pull in out even though that seventh game would be in Philly, but if Chris Pronger is close to full strength and Jeff Carter returns to give the Flyers the kind of lift Simon Gagne did last year, that could be enough to end the Bruins' season in the second round again.
4. Is [Milan] Lucic trying to change his game? It didn't seem that he was playing the physical way he has played in the past. [It] almost looked as if he was waiting for a play to develop for him.
— Tony
I don't think Lucic is trying to change his game. I think the Canadiens were just a bad matchup for him. He did have 16 hits in the seven games and set up the series winner in Game 7. But after leading the club with 30 goals in the regular season he had no goals in the series (and actually had none in the final 10 games of the regular season as well for a 17-game drought). When he did get physical, it backfired, as he was ejected from Game 6 after boarding Jaroslav Spacek on a controversial call.
If Lucic continues to struggle against a more physical team like Philadelphia, then there will really be reason for concern. Lucic has too much of a track record of coming up big in the most important games from his Memorial Cup exploits in junior to his past playoff performances with the Bruins to think he won't rebound, unless there is an injury that is hampering his performance. The Bruins insist everyone got through the opening round healthy, but NHL teams are notorious about hiding injuries during the postseason. If Lucic doesn't turn things around this round, his health is sure to be the first question asked once the season is over and such information is finally revealed.
5. Hi Doug, Why is it that Claude Julien and Peter Chiarelli are on the "hot seat"? I think they have done a good job since they arrived. Don't we remember the days before their arrival and how dreadful the Bruins were for many years?
— Doug
I did make the case for Julien in a recent mailbag citing that exact comparison to the brutal days of Dave Lewis prior to Julien's arrival. Julien has led the Bruins to the playoffs in all four years of his tenure, won a pair of division titles and taken the club to the second round in each of the last three years. Prior to Julien, it had been a decade since the Bruins last won a playoff series. But with that success have come raised expectations, and both Julien and Chiarelli face some serious pressure to take the Bruins to the next level.
That's understandable, particularly in Chiarelli's case as he already got one mulligan after firing Lewis just one year into a four-year contract. Chiarelli is also the one who has assembled the roster Julien has to work with. Some of his recent deals are looking better now that the playoffs have begun, particularly the additions of Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, while others have yielded disappointing results, such as the trade for Kaberle. Chiarelli also orchestrated the Phil Kessel trade that brought Seguin to Boston, with Jared Knight and this year's ninth overall pick still to come. That deal should pay off handsomely in the future, but Seguin hasn't had the immediate impact many hoped for.
The Bruins' rally to beat Montreal in the opening round certainly turned down the heat a bit, but another second-round exit against the Flyers could make both Julien's and Chiarelli's seats a bit uncomfortable again. That might not be fair considering how far they've brought the team from the depths it was mired in just a few years ago, but that's the reality of the raised expectations they've created with that turnaround.
To submit a question to Douglas Flynn for future mailbags, click here. You also can ask Douglas a question via Twitter at @douglasflynn.
