There's no disputing the fact that the Boston Bruins had a clunker Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.
But it's shortsighted to not consider everything that was going on Tuesday.
The Bruins had two players, Craig Smith and Brad Marchand, enter the COVID-19 protocols ahead of the game. Smith landed on it Tuesday morning, while Marchand took part in morning skate with all of his teammates, only to get placed in the protocol in the afternoon. Considering the outbreak the Calgary Flames are having after playing the Bruins on Saturday, one has to think Boston players had to have been uneasy throughout the day.
Sure, they're professionals. But you also have to look at it from a human perspective, too, and in such a case it becomes more forgivable that the Bruins didn't have their best Tuesday. They were standing still far too often, and there were plenty of mistakes that were preventable. If ever there was a day where their heads might be elsewhere, it was Tuesday.
Ask any Bruins player, and their response likely will echo Taylor Hall's: Yeah, the COVID-19 situation shouldn't be an excuse.
That's fair, and exactly what they should say. At the same time, just because they're not using that as an excuse doesn't mean it's not what was happening. Only they know that for sure.
But in addition to the COVID aspect, it is also worth keeping in mind that this is not the continuation of some bad run. The Bruins had gotten points in five straight games, and had just beaten two of the top teams in the Western Conference on the road.
While it's too early in the season for any game to be a true "throw the tape away and forget about it," the Bruins are better than what they showed Tuesday. Bad games happen, and sometimes it's external factors that cause them. The Bruins now have three games scheduled against teams they should beat -- the Islanders, Canadiens and Senators -- which could provide the reset the Bruins need after a clunker.
So, you don't need to accept Tuesday for anything other than what it was, a bad game. But you also have to keep proper perspective.
