The Boston Bruins were the #1 seed when the league’s season was suspended in March. Everything seemed to be going well and they were well on their way to defending their Eastern Conference crown.
But then came the bubble.
Boston did not win any of their three Round Robin games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Washington Capitals. So they went from the one seed all the way down to the fourth seed in a matter of three games.
I understand that they lost to the top three teams in the Eastern Conference, but there still needs to be some concern because the Bruins were believed to be the team to beat.
In their final game of the round robin against the Capitals, it took the Bruins 10:30 into the third period to score their first goal of the game when Jake DeBrusk put one in the back of the net.
Despite having more shots on goal and more takeaways, they never could capitalize on opportunities including on their two Power Play chances.
If the Bruins can’t muster up more offense, then they are going to be in trouble especially when they get to the second or third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they have to match up against great offensive teams like the Flyers and the Lightning.
The Bruins first round match-up will be against the #6 seed Carolina Hurricanes, who swept the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Qualifying Round.
(Photo: John Tlumacki/Boston Globe)
