Boston Bruins: Is the Recent Slide a Concern? Not Yet.

For the month of March, the Bruins are thus far 3-3-3, and in that stat, they have one win in their last seven games.

The slide can be a bit of a concern, but, given a few factors, there is no need for concern...yet.

Tuukka Time For Frustration

Bruins No. 2 goalie Tuukka Rask has been frustrated in the last two games he was between the pipes, and I say in the last two games simply because he has very visibly shown this.  Personally, I think the frustration was during much of the season.

When he was taking over the net after Tim Thomas was chased in Toronto, Rask was screened by his own defenseman.  He let Dennis Seidenberg know of his feelings on the ice, although there is an unwritten rule that things like that needs to be addressed later.  For their sake and for the team, let's hope that will be patched up in quick order.

Defense?

In the OT loss to Nashville there were some defensive miscues that gave the Preds the opportunities to get back in it and take the extra point in the extra period.

One goal where Johnny Boychuk left Colin Wilson alone along the boards when the opposite side and centre were covered allowed Wilson to step into a shot that beat Rask with a knuckle ball puck.

In the same game, Zdeno Chara uncharacteristically left for a line change right at the end of David Legwand's penalty which allowed a clearing puck to put Legwand all alone.  A basic no-no when on the man advantage.  It took three tries to score on Rask, but by the time the defense even got back, there were three Pred players whacking at the puck.

The Bruins were outscored this month 27-19.  Despite the Bruins' recent lackluster defense, they are still among the least allowed goals with 175.  Just recently, they were the team with the least amount of goals in the league. 

Offense?

Again, the B's were outscored 27-19.  While the team is not the top offensive in the league, they were not near the bottom of the barrel either.  

Missing Keys

Brad Marchand was spending his last game of a suspension involving a hit in the head, from behind no less.  He is expected to play tonight against the New Jersey Devils.  He was very missed in the lineup.

Andrew Ference is back on the lineup, but I expect some rust to be shaken off in a game or two.  Ference brings speed into the defense and right about now it is needed.

Panic?

So do the Bruins need to panic?  Not so fast.

The key things to get back on track is to recognize what they were doing wrong.

Chara and Mark Recchi spoke with WEEI regarding this:

"We know we haven't been as sharp. The energy and jump in some of the games, we're lacking," Zdeno Chara said after Sunday's practice. "We need to go back to our identity and what we do best."

Teams in the past has recorded some dismal slumps prior to the playoffs and came out to be Cup winners.  Recchi was on two teams that had this happen and they were just about written off.

"Every team is going to go through it at some point," Recchi said. "We're glad we're going through it now, and we've got 11 games to correct it."

Better now than in the playoffs.

Hunger

Although the Bruins are in a slump, some were quick to dismiss the seven-game win streak they earned just prior to this.

My point?  Anything can happen in the game of hockey.  In the seven games that they won, they played against top teams in the West.  In the games that they lost recently, they were playing some desperate teams that needed to give 110 percent to get points and further in the standings.

Simply put, they were more hungry for it.  The Bruins need to find that hunger again.  Recchi said it best that they have time to figure it out and get what seems to be broken fixed.

There are a few players that have not seen the playoffs for a long time or have not seen the playoffs period.

Tomas Kaberle has not seen the postseason since the 2003-04 season and is looking to make an impact.

Nathan Horton, Gregory Campbell, Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand and Steven Kampfer, have never been in the playoffs.

While Seguin, Marchand and Kampfer are rookies, Horton and Campbell are both into their seventh season and will be hungry to produce for their new team that is allowing them to taste the postseason for the first time in their NHL careers.

Wrap Up

With the Bruins potentially matching up against the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs, most folks have them written off.  I wouldn't be too sure at this point.  The playoffs can be a nasty creature that will yield very bizarre results.

Sometimes the saying "be careful what you wish for" can ring true.

Sometimes a hot team can fizzle very quickly.  The Bruins have shown this and no team is exempt from this possibility.

On the other hand, there are 20+ points up for grabs between now and then.  The playoff picture is far from certain at this point.

Regardless of the results, the Bruins seem poised to make the playoffs.  Whether it is on the road or at home ice in the opening round remains to be seen. 

The proverbial ball is now in the Bruins' court and it is up to them what they want to do with it.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean."