Bruins Notes: Boston’s Struggles Continue In Latest Atrocious Loss

The Boston Bruins were outplayed in every way in an ugly, blowout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

The Black and Gold not only lost 8-2 to the ‘Canes but they were also outshot 37-15 in the contest, managing just five shots on goal in each period.

Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery attempted to boost the offense by juggling all four forward lines, but Carolina’s puck pressure and pace were too much for Boston and the team couldn’t sustain any type of cohesiveness throughout the game.

“We knew they’d come hard,” Montgomery told Andy Brickley on NESN’s postgame coverage. “Unfortunately, we didn’t move pucks fast enough.”

David Pastrnak said the Bruins’ struggles are more than just line combinations not working.

“Right now, it’s not about the combinations,” he told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We are not good enough as a team, and that’s where it starts.”

Boston finished the first month of the season winning one game out of its last six, but Montgomery believes the team can turn it around in the upcoming month.

“We had a lot of success the last two years,” he said, per team-provided video. “We were first place in the league the last two years. We never achieved anything we wanted to.

“Right now, we’re not happy. Nobody’s happy with what’s going on. But we will get out of it. We will be better and hopefully create some better results come playoff time. It starts by sticking together and working. There’s no substitute for second and third effort.”

The Bruins aren’t willing to point the finger at any one player on the roster and are taking responsibility for how the team is playing on the ice.

“All you can do is keep working hard,” Trent Frederic told reporters, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I think everybody is doing that and trying their best. I think everyone needs to come together. A lot of individuals, including myself, aren’t doing well.

“I think everyone just needs to worry about the team and be team first. I’m not saying that’s the case, but the individual stuff will come and kind of all blend in together. We’ve done it for how many years now? It’s a recipe, we just got to get to it.”

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Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Hurricanes game:

— The Bruins’ 8-2 thrashing to Carolina is the worst loss for Boston since a 6-0 blowout defeat to the Hurricanes on Feb. 10, 2022, according to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson.

— Boston surrendered three power-play goals for the third time this season in the first 11 games. The Bruins had allowed three power-play goals in a single game just three times in the previous 437 games, per Anderson.

— Brad Marchand tallied his second goal of the season and became the ninth player in franchise history to score 80 career power-play goals. The Bruins captain also moved into the fourth spot, ahead of Rick Middleton, in team history in goals scored (403).

— Jeremy Swayman was pulled midway through the second period after the Boston goaltender gave up six goals on 22 shots through 30 minutes.

— The Bruins travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers in a matinee matchup Saturday. Puck drop from Wells Fargo Center is slated for 1 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.