The Boston Bruins have a rough road ahead of them. With just 28 games left in the regular season, the B’s will have to dig down deep if they want to avoid missing the postseason for the third straight year.
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The Boston Bruins couldn’t find a way past the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. The 5-3 loss showed that the B’s still have some trouble putting together a solid sixty minute effort. The Bruins struggled on the five-on-five, and normally decent players like Brandon Carlo had a rough go of it against Alex Ovechkin and company.
“When you look at some of the goals they scored and how we managed [the puck], it wasn’t good enough,” said Bruins bench boss Claude Julien of the team’s performance at the post-game press conference. “We weren’t heavy enough [on the puck] to win this game tonight. We didn’t have enough players going, so that kind of hurt us tonight. Those are the kinds of areas, for me, that [represent] the areas that really cost us.
“Puck management, we need more out of some players and not a heavy enough game to beat a good team like the Washington Capitals.”
The Bruins currently have 58 points. To guarantee a place in the playoffs, they’re going to need around 95 points. Can the B’s get 37 points in the next 28 games?
The Boston Bruins believe they can do it. They’ve got enough skilled players to make it happen. It’s just a matter of playing a consistent game every night.
“We’ve played some pretty good games lately,” said B’s forward Brad Marchand after Wednesday practice, according to CSNNE. com. “We have to be ready to play. We can’t afford to take any games off. We’ve put ourselves into a position where we don’t have the luxury of having a bad game, and saying ‘it’s okay.’
“We need to have a good game every single night if we’re going to continue to fight our way into the playoffs.”
While Brad Marchand has certainly been producing for the Bruins, other players haven’t. The biggest thing that could hurt the team right now is having players that aren’t playing to the level the B’s need them to.
The Bruins are also in the unfortunate position of having played more games than everyone behind them in the playoff hunt. Toronto will be coming to town on Saturday. They’re just three points behind and have five games in hand over Boston. If the B’s fail to beat the Maple Leafs at the TD Garden, it could be the beginning of the end.
“We need to keep playing every game the same way. We need to play on our toes, play to win and be determined,” commented Bruins forward David Krejci on what the team needs to do. “That’s the only way for us to win games.”
To guarantee a post season spot, the Bruins will need to win at least 16 games. It’s going to be a tall order for a team that doesn’t have a reliable backup goaltender. Also, the roster is starting to look banged up.
