Don Sweeney knows full well that the way the Boston Bruins have played on offense is not sustainable.
While the Bruins have largely avoided any catastrophes, they’ve struggled to score periodically this season, especially at even strength. They rank 21st in the NHL in goals scored, and have leaned on the top line for 32 of its 64 goals.
For a while now, secondary scoring has been an issue. Part of the problem this season is injury-related since Ondrej Kase has been out since the second game of the season. But there’s a layer of ineffectiveness, as well, most notably with Jake DeBrusk and, to a lesser degree, David Krejci.
“Not at the current rate we’re going,” Sweeney said over Zoom on Wednesday when asked if the Bruins have the in-house options to break through offensively. “Clearly we’ve played well defensively in the last five games or such. We just haven’t generated — or finished, I should say — five-on-five is just not where it needs to be to consistently win, or to extend leads if you do get them. So, it’s a concern across the board. It’s not so much the top-heavy part of it, just overall. I think that injuries have played a little bit of a factor there on the back end, but we’ve also not given up that much. Goaltenders are playing pretty well. So yeah, I think it’s a major concern for us.”
We’re still a month away from the trade deadline, so a move anytime soon is surprising. But Sweeney readily admitted that the Bruins will at least make calls, especially as more teams fall below the line.
“We certainly have areas we’d like to explore to add, but it’s been challenging,” Sweeney said. “I think things will loosen up because there will be teams that will identify themselves as not being not necessarily in the position that they want to be, and some player movement will happen.
“But moving across the border is a difficult thing with quarantine, but I think a healthier group sometimes dictate how many player transaction will be there. … Really, it’s navigating the unknown right now. But plenty of talks and conversations going on, so we’ll see where it goes the next couple weeks.”
We’ve seen at times this season that the offense can pop at a moment’s notice. It’s just a matter of everyone catching fire at the same time. Perhaps health and, in turn, stability with lines will help accomplish that.
Whatever the case may be, Sweeney and Co. know they can’t play this way forever.
