Lackluster defense has potential to sink Bruins’ playoff hopes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Blowing a two-goal lead in the final four minutes of Saturday’s game against the Senators in Ottawa was a double-whammy for the Boston Bruins.
Not only did the B’s fail to secure two points after ultimately losing 6-5 in a shootout, but they let a team chasing them in the Eastern Conference playoff race pick up two points instead of zero.
The victory vaulted the Senators ahead of the Bruins in the standings and into the second wild card spot in the conference. And as a result, the B’s now find themselves outside of the playoff picture with 35 games remaining. Given how inconsistent the Bruins have played all season, it’s hard to have much confidence that this group will figure it out.
There are a lot of issues with this team’s performance right now. The most egregious one is the lack of defense being played.
The Bruins were outshot 44-28 against the Senators. They’ve now given up 40-plus shots in three consecutive games for the first time since January of 1966 — during Bobby Orr’s rookie campaign. Furthermore, the B’s have been outshot in a season-high six straight games (239 to 154 overall in that span). The Senators tallied 97 shot attempts to the Bruins’ 52 on Saturday. Opponents have a 288-136 edge in shot attempts over the B’s in the last three games.
It doesn’t matter how well your goalie is playing; it’s tough to win games when the opponent is launching a constant barrage of pucks toward his net. And Jeremy Swayman, to his credit, has played really well over the last few weeks. On Saturday he played as well as a goalie who gave up five goals possibly could. He made several Grade A saves, and without those, it would have been a lopsided result in the Senators’ favor.
“He gave us a chance to win again and that’s all you can ask of your goaltender. He did that again,” Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco told reporters after losing in Ottawa. “We have to cut down on certain scoring opportunities to help him out.”
Over the last the last nine games — Dec. 31 through Jan. 19 — the Bruins have allowed the second-most shot attempts (675), the second-most shots (322), the second-most scoring chances (312), the second-most high-danger chances (139) and the third-most goals (34) of any team in the league, per Natural Stat Trick.
Giving up 139 high-danger chances in nine games is an astounding total, and it highlights how poorly the Bruins are defending the front of their net, which should be the toughest place for opponents to carve out real estate. The lack of pushback and mental mistakes in coverage in that area are alarming.
“We have to protect our house,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak said postgame Saturday. “We are relying on the goalie too much. There are games when (the opponent) has 40 shots but they are not high-end chances, but the last couple games it’s too many shots from inside the house.”
But it’s not just giving up too many shots and scoring chances that’s hurting the Bruins’ defense. Failed clear attempts is another huge issue. For example, Elias Lindholm had the puck behind his net right before Senators defenseman Nick Jensen scored to make it 5-4 Bruins with 3:13 left in the third period. Lindholm has to get this puck out of the zone.
Game management is a huge part of winning, and the Bruins come up short in this facet too often.
Every time the Bruins look like they’ve turned a corner, they take a step back. Before Saturday, the B’s had won two games in a row — impressive victories over the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. But after losing in Ottawa, the B’s still have won three games in a row only once all season. Boston has a 9-9-4 record after victories this season.
If the Bruins don’t show some consistency in their overall performance, they won’t make the playoffs. It’s that simple. They are in a serious fight for a postseason berth. Not only are the Bruins outside of a playoff berth as of Sunday morning, they’ve played more games than just about every team in the conference. As a result, they rank 10th in the East in points percentage.
There are five teams trailing the Bruins by four points or fewer in the wild card chase. Three of them have two games in hand. We could see one of the most intense wild card races in a long time, but if the Bruins continue to give up shots and scoring chances at their current rate, they might not even be a factor in the playoff push in March or April.
