Zadorov and Peeke got badly exposed in this one. They're not bad players, at all. They just have limitations, and when you put this much responsibility and TOI on them then the errors really start to pile up. Same goes for Lohrei defensively at this stage in his development when he's not getting enough shelter and support from his partner.
That's how it goes. The D has overall held up pretty well of late, all things considered. Losing Carlo as well just seemed to tip it over the edge. It doesn't help either that the Bruins' forwards are nowhere near as good defensively as the days when we had the likes of Bergy, Krejci and Foligno. Even DeBrusk learnt to be quite solid in the Bruins' end over time. Coyle seems to have regressed in that regard, Elias Lindholm is generally good in this if nothing else but struggling with form and fitness. So it all takes a toll.
No other solutions there but to get some troops back and hope it makes a significant difference. The forward group was always a big question mark for this season, the amount the D has also struggled has been far more surprising. Need to see how it looks with everyone available again, not to 'rescue' this season but to work out what exactly isn't working in there and how it might be fixed in the longer term.