Boston Bruins: Has Harmful Overconfidence Become Harmful Self-Doubt?

The way the Montreal Canadiens effectively wrested Saturday’s game out of the Boston Bruins’ reach, all but biffed every participating and onlooking party back into the 2008 playoffs.

Much the same way brothers Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn tuned the mesh 88 seconds apart to commence Game 1 of that year’s quarterfinal series, Brian Gionta and Lars Eller sculpted the Habs a 2-0 edge in a matter of 76 ticks Saturday.

That ice-shattering turn of events could be a microcosm for what is plaguing the Bruins in their ongoing flounder. Whereas some of their earlier losses could be attributed to the heavy crown of confidence that comes with being the reigning Stanley Cup champion, the exact opposite is taking the same effect.

Think about it. Prior to the just-completed home-and-home set with their oldest rivals, the Bruins were an acrid 3-5-0, but ostensibly had an adversary with an even bigger predicament at hand. Montreal was on the heels of firing assistant coach Perry Pearn, and had only just improved to 2-5-2 with a home win over Philadelphia less than 24 hours before venturing into TD Garden to face a comparatively rested team.

Opportunistically preying on the Habs could have brought Boston back to the .500 fence for the first time in three weeks, and served as a springboard for a more orderly November.

Instead, the Bruins have curtained their only losing month of October in the Claude Julien era at 3-7-0. They had already “secured” that ghastly milestone with Thursday’s 2-1 loss at home, which made them flip-flop positions with the Habs in the lower echelon of the Northeast Division.

Suddenly, Montreal had won consecutive games, an achievement the Bruins still have yet to claim for themselves. Traction and constructive confidence were plainly at stake on the Garden ice, and the visitors claimed it.

Never was that more evident than in the start to Saturday’s rematch. After Gionta’s power-play strike, Montreal out-hit Boston 2-1, and blocked a Dennis Seidenberg shot-attempt before Eller strolled back onto goaltender Tuukka Rask’s property and augmented the edge to 2-0.

Odds are the question was neither uttered nor even pieced together in the minds of any Bruins skater, stopper or staffer. Or, at the very least, it might have crossed a few minds before it was violently repressed.

But you had to simply wonder it in the wake of Thursday’s game: If they can’t get going against the Habs, who can they get going against?

When the question recycled itself in Saturday’s opening frame, it was clear that this Bruins loss was going to be unique from its six immediate predecessors. There was no failure to pull their 60-minute game back down to Earth like there was after raising the banner and then facing Philadelphia, or when they confronted Colorado a day after sharing the Cup with the New England Patriots.

There was no lack of discipline like there was late in Rask’s previous start against Carolina. (Yes, Boston was flagged for six minor penalties before the final siren on Saturday, but with all due objectivity, at least two of those were owed to PK Subban’s successful embellishment.)

There was certainly no support for the notion of laxity like there was in last Saturday’s game against San Jose, on the heels of a 6-2 romp of Toronto, or Thursday’s bout with the Canadiens after four days off.

This time, it was pure, unadulterated angst ailing the Bruins at the Bell Centre. The hex they are in was initially self-imposed, but is now continuing in a whirlpool of worry that is all but beyond their control.

Naturally, they do have a certain degree of control over it, but they couldn’t exercise that power quickly enough on Saturday. And when Gionta and Eller struck, the tempest gained two more pounds of punch.

And naturally, the search for a solution is as complicated as the problem itself. First it was an overload of conviction combined with a shortage of energy and consistency. Now it is an utter lack of self-assurance teamed with consistent, albeit fairly concealed, and frenzied panic.

Whatever is required to turn the tables, it could very well amount to a redressing string of success sooner or later. But it will probably need to lead to a November reminiscent of their 11-1-1 month of November 2008 if this team wants to stave off the need for a miracle in the later phases of the 2011-12 derby.

Otherwise, the Bruins and their fans may face the specter of tumbling back into 2006.