Struggles on special teams continue to loom large for a Bruins squad operating with little room for error.
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As he watched his team scratch and claw for playoff positioning Wednesday night against the Rangers, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney clung to some optimism in a season where that has been in short supply.
Speaking on the TNT broadcast during the matchup at Madison Square Garden, Sweeney sounded like an executive hoping to avoid a reality where the Bruins plant a “For Sale” sign ahead of the trade deadline.
It’s uncharted territory for Sweeney, who — beyond an offseason sell-off of assets such as Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton in 2015 — has not had to pivot from the franchise’s win-now window.
But much like Cam Neely’s comments last month
regarding the “two paths” management could take before the March 7 deadline, the patience that Sweeney preached Wednesday was undercut by the consequences that await if this team can’t right the ship in the coming weeks.
“It’s been a little unique for us this year, getting out of the gate not as fast as we would like,” Sweeney said.
“We’re in the middle of things. It’s a tough exercise to sort of play both sides of the street, but that’s almost every year what a general manager is required to do, and test what’s out there, what’s available, how you can improve, hopefully.
“We have some areas we would like to, but we have to keep an eye. We’ve missed Hampus Lindholm all year, at least the last 40 games, and it’s affected our group. But everybody goes through injuries. You’ve got to battle through it, got to find a way while I’m out there trying to improve our club. If we have more injuries or we don’t do the job between now and the deadline, we may have to take a different path.”
A little more than an hour after Sweeney’s musings, a team he assembled did little to validate that hope of investing in another playoff push.
In one respect,
the 3-2 loss to the Rangers stood as a bit of an outlier.
In a season in which the Bruins have squandered several opportunities, Wednesday marked a new “achievement” — standing as the first time that they failed collect at least a point despite leading over two periods. (They are now 16-1-4).
The Bruins’ road woes have hindered their ability to gain traction. Since the holiday break, the Bruins are 1-8-1 in their last 10 road games — with the win an OT victory against the Panthers (Jan. 11) after relinquishing the tying goal with three seconds left in regulation.
“I wish we had the answers,” David Pastrnak said Wednesday of the Bruins’ struggles away from TD Garden. “I know we’ve had a lot of games at home . . . Definitely have to be better on the road. Because we need every point we can get.”
Struggles on special teams continue to loom large for a Bruins squad with little room for error.
Vincent Trocheck’s tying goal at 5:27 of the third period came seconds after the Bruins killed Brad Marchand penalty. Even with the Bruins’ penalty-killing unit technically finishing 3 for 3, they still rank 23rd in the league at 76.0 percent.
Boston’s power play has been far worse, ranking 30th at 14.6 percent.
The Bruins whiffed on all three of their power plays on Wednesday, landing just three shots on goal and generating zero high-danger scoring chances.
But even a pedestrian power play would have the Bruins operating with some breathing room in a tight playoff race — with Boston 14-7-1 when scoring at least once on the man-advantage.
Yes, the expected return of Lindholm after the upcoming two-week break should bolster the Bruins’ defense.
But expecting Lindholm to further staple down Boston’s Jekyll and Hyde defensive structure and elevate a sputtering power play after being sidelined for more than three months is a sizable ask. And even if Lindholm has little drop-off, his presence alone doesn’t mitigate the deficiencies on a roster that is still likely short at least one top-six center and two scoring wingers.
Sweeney and Co. still have time to weigh their options before March 7. But with just eight games separating the Bruins from the trade deadline, a team short on skill and urgency is making the path forward easier for the brass to chart.
I guess he is.He is way ahead of where Recchi was when Bruins won .Any Cup contender that don't want him for a playoff run are foolish.
