Whether or not they have done that is open to debate, but what cannot be argued through the season's first four games are the results. With a 3-2 loss on Wednesday to the previously winless Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins sit at 1-3 on the early season — with an emphasis on early.
The season may be just a young pup at this point, but there are already developing reasons as to why the B's have struggled so much in their first Stanley Cup defense since the 1972-73 season.
The offense has clearly been an issue. As a team, the Bruins are averaging fewer than two goals a game, a glaring reflection of the lack of productivity in the offensive zone. The top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic (just one point this season) and Nathan Horton (just one point and only four shots) has been practically nonexistent. An injury to Krejci isn't making matters much better, although the playmaker's injury has opened the door for Tyler Seguin to move up to the top line in an attempt to jumpstart that line. Seguin has been arguably the Bruins' most effective offensive weapon.
Of course, it wouldn't be a discussion about the Bruins' struggles without a mention of the power play. The B's are a staggering 1-for-18 in the early going. Consider the fact that the one power-play goal came on a Brad Marchand breakaway goal on the team's first power play of the season, and those numbers look even worse. Those struggles are no doubt contributing to the woeful offensive numbers all around as well.
If you really wanted to, you could point to the early-season struggles as evidence of a Stanley Cup hangover. The B's talked about this at length heading into the season, and it seemed like something they were ready to take on once the season began. Well, four games in to the season the Bruins have shown pretty poor efforts in three of those games. The only strong effort came in an impressive win over the Lightning as part of the three-game homestand to open the season. However, the efforts in the Carolina loss and a Columbus Day matinee loss to the Avalanche could present a little cause for concern.
