Another Year, Another Season Ends Abruptly As The Boston Bruins Lose In 6 Games To The New York Islanders
Well, as painful as it is, Bruins fans should now be well accustomed to the feeling of being eliminated early on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the past 5 years, the Bruins have made it to the cup final only once, and have been eliminated three times in the second round and once in the first round. Although we have been able to watch some great regular season hockey and get our hopes up over the prospect of some deep playoff runs, it is time to finally come back to earth and come to the hard realization about this team. They are not, and have not been, a Stanley Cup contending team, despite their appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 2019. If you have read any of my previous articles, specifically “The Stanley Cup; What It Takes”, the reason they are not a Stanley Cup contending team should be as clear as day. Before anyone loses their mind over this, allow me to explain why.
First of all, it is no secret that the Bruin’s top two centermen, namely Captain Patrice Bergeron and Alternate Captain David Krejci, are far past their primes at age 36 and 35 respectively. Although these two centers were very good during their younger years, and still are a factor during the regular season, these past few years should show you that they are far from who they once were. Again, if you read my article “The Stanley Cup; What It Takes” you can see that most, if not all #1 centermen who win the Stanley Cup, produce at least 20 points during the postseason. Usually, one can expect a true #1 center to produce anywhere from 22–28 points. Additionally, most, if not all #2 centermen who win the Stanley Cup, produce at least 15–17 points in the postseason. Going back to their last Stanley Cup appearance, Patrice Bergeron generated 17 points while David Krejci generated 16 points. Although these numbers are good, their numbers are not at the level that they need to be at if the Bruins hoped to win the Stanley Cup. They may be good numbers for a #2 centerman, but they are not good enough for a #1 center. If we further examine both their numbers, you will also notice that against the bigger, heavier, and more talented defensive groups, their numbers aren’t that good at all. Bergeron had 5 pointless games vs the St. Louis Blues during the Stanley Cup series in 2019. Ironically enough, Krejci also had 5 pointless games in that series. This past year when they faced the New York Islanders, Bergeron posted a mere 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points. His fellow centerman David Krejci also did not do much better, posting 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. All statistics are coming from nhl.com.
Now statistics don’t tell the whole story, but they do provide us with a framework and picture of what you need from your team. Their lack of production can be partially attributed to the lack of star wingers for Krejci or too much of a load on Patrice Bergeron, but based on examination of 30 Stanley Cup Championship teams, I can say for certain that they can also be attributed to the age and the wear and tear that both centerman have undergone throughout their NHL careers. Now that they are well into their 30’s and aren’t as talented as guys like Sydney Crosby, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman, we can only expect their production to decrease.
Aside from their top two centermen being too old, the Bruins also have another fundamental issue that is holding them back from Stanley Cup contention. One that has also reared it’s ugly head many times in these past few postseasons which is that their defensive core is too young, and quite honestly, too undersized.
Charlie McAvoy, the star young defenseman that has got us fans shaking with excitement, has really blossomed this past season. He has become even more responsible in his own end, been a factor in the offensive zone, and has brought the physicality needed all while playing with younger, more inexperienced guys like Jeremy Lauzon and while logging big minutes against the NHL’s top talent. Despite his progression, he is still at the young age of 23, and though he has good size at 6'0, 208 pounds, he could put on more weight. Furthermore, outside of Brandon Carlo, they are lacking size, skill, and experience, particularly on the left side of their defense. Prospects Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, and Urho Vaakanienen are still far too undersized and inexperienced to go up against top tier talent. Matt Grzelcyk, although an excellent puck mover and skater, is an underwhelming 5'9, 174 pounds. This may be fine on the power play or on the third pair, but when faced with bigger, more skilled opponents, Grzelcyk has been routinely taken advantage of. We saw a similar situation with Torey Krug who again, was an offensive juggernaut and excellent skater, but lacked the size and shut down capabilities needed as a top 4 defenseman (the main reason why in another one of my articles I was fully against resigning him). Bruins General Manager, Don Sweeney, attempted to address this at this years trade deadline when he traded a third round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Mike Reilly. Although Reilly proved to be an excellent puck mover, and brought more size to the left side, he still lacked the toughness and physicality needed to shut down the oppositions top guys. With McAvoy taking the brunt of the minutes and punishment from the opponents grinders, we saw his play take a sharp decline towards the end of the Islanders series when he clearly was getting worn down.
This may make many wonder if the decision to let former Bruin’s Captain and #1 defenseman, Zdeno Chara, leave in free agency during the off-season was the wrong one. Admittedly, Chara does bring size and experience that the Bruins sorely need on their left side, but make no mistake, at age 43, Chara is a shell of is former self. Though he may be in peak physical shape, his play on the ice has taken a steep decline, and other teams know it including the Bruins who exposed him the same way other teams did when he played for us in his final few years. Even if Zdeno Chara remained with the Bruins, I thoroughly believe he would not have been a factor.
Getting back to the point, the Bruins defensive group as it is now, although it is led by up and coming star, Charlie McAvoy, is still too inexperienced and undersized for a deep Stanley Cup run. Furthermore, if the Bruin’s main shut down defenseman, Brandon Carlo, continues to constantly remain sidelined with health issues, the Bruins lack of defensive depth will haunt them for years to come.
Finally, the issue of goal tending should still be apparent to all Bruins fans, though I am sure many will disagree. Going back to my article “The Stanley Cup; What It Takes”, another thing the Bruins need is a young goaltender who has the mindset needed to win the big games when it matters. Bruin’s starting goaltender, Tuuka Rask, is also getting older at age 34, and is experiencing seemingly recurring health issues. Yes, he may be the best REGULAR SEASON goaltender in Bruins history, but as you all know; regular seasons don’t win cups. Though, during many postseason runs Rask has played very well; but if you notice, when the pressure is on him, when his team needs a save, when the season is on the line, he tends to crack.
Going back to one of my previous articles (I have since updated his stats after this years postseason exit) Rask in ELIMINATION games (not just game 7’s) is 3–7, has a .872 save percentage, and posts an underwhelming 3.20 goals against average. Even out of his three elimination game wins, two of them he has given up 3 or more goals and the offense has had to bail him out. Yes, he may have been hurt this year and perhaps the play of the team in front of him was not great, but those are the situations where you need your starting goaltender to come through and perhaps steal you the series (or at the very least force another game). I do not blame Tuuka Rask if the offense cannot score goals, but I do not blame the offense or defense if he is unable to make a big save. It should be obvious to many that although he is a very talented player, his age, recurring injuries, and his inability to come through in elimination games seriously hurts the Bruins. To quote well-known Bruins follower and writer, Joe Haggerty, the Bruins “Will not win a Stanley Cup with Tuuka Rask in net”. With Jeremy Swayman showing excellent promise in his limited NHL career thus far, it is time to bid Tuuka Rask farewell, and pass the net minder torch over to a young flame.
Given the age and decline of the Bruin’s top two centermen, the lack of size and experience of their back end, and the age, poor health, and poor elimination play of their starting goaltender, it is no wonder the Bruins have only been to the Stanley Cup final once in the past 5 years and lost in either the first or second round in all of the other years. Let us all come back down to earth and realize, it has been a good run with this current core. We have watched them raise the Stanley Cup after a 39 year drought, been given some excellent regular season hockey, and unlike many teams, have looked forward to a postseason appearance in 10 of the past 12 seasons. However, it is now time to move forward with a new generation of Bruins, led by star winger David Pastrnak, star defenseman Charlie McAvoy, and the up and coming goaltender, Jeremy Swayman.
