The Bruins have had chances to prove themselves time and time again this seasons. They had countless opportunities to win over their passionate, but championship hungry fan base. For months now, people in Mass. media have been calling out Peter Chiarelli for building this offensively challenged team. People have criticized Claude Julien for using injuries as an excuse for the teams struggles and not lighting the fire and anger that defined the Bruins franchise for decades. For most of the season, Dennis Wideman has been the scapegoat for all of the Bruins on-ice issues. All of this can be forgiven if the Bruins revert back to the Big Bad Bruin way in the playoffs. If they show some toughness and show the Causeway Crowd that they will not go down without a fight, there will be anticipation and optimism heading into next season.
The Bruins have been playing better recently. Ever since the humiliating loss to Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, the Bruins have turned it around. In the Pittsburgh game, all the hype was about the Bruins getting payback for Matt Cooke's cheap shot on Marc Savard. Savard's teammates did not fight for him in the game he got hurt, and the effort on the ice in the next game was nothing to be proud of either. With the exception of Shawn Thornton's beat down of Cooke two minutes into the game, the Bruins seemed lifeless on the ice next to the high powered Penguins team. Since that game, however, the Bruins have been playing a much more inspiring brand of hockey. They still have difficulty scoring. Marco Sturm is the only 20 goal scorer on the team, and Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are the only players with 50 points or more. On the other hand, the Bruins play very good defense as a team. Anchored by rookie goaltender Tuuka Rask, the Bruins have allowed only 195 goals all season. The New Jersey Devils are the only team that has allowed fewer this season. If you think about it, it is pretty impressive that the team that scored the fewest goals in the NHL this year has a shot at the playoffs. The Bruins defense is underrated and has not gotten the credit it deserves this year.
Having said that, the Bruins defense is currently plagued with injuries. Mark Stuart, Andrew Ference, and Dennis Seidenburg are all out, possibly for the entire playoffs. This means that players like Matt Hunwick and Dennis Wideman really need to step it up if they Bruins want to make any noise this post-season. Wideman has been playing better lately. he scored a goal in the Buffalo game a few nights ago and he has been playing solid defense for a few weeks now.
The Bruins also need to find a way to score more early and often to have any success. In the playoffs they will face Washington, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, or Buffalo at some point. The Washington Capitals have a very prolific offense that can intimidate people, but their biggest weakness is their goal tending. The Caps expressed an interest in acquiring Tim Thomas from Boston earlier in the year so they could have a more stable net. Historically, teams that have dominant goalies have made runs in the playoff and sometimes get further than they were supposed to. The other three teams that the Bruins might play have superior goalies to Washington: Martin Brodeur for the New Jersey Devils, Ryan Miller for the Buffalo Sabres, and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Pittsburgh Penguins. All three of those teams are teams the Bruins are capable of skating with and being competitive with.
The main concern I have for the Bruins this year has been leadership. I know Zdeno Chara is the captain and he is the defending Norris Trophy winner, but he does not seem to be the angry vocal leader that an NHL locker room needs. Somebody needs to step up and really take on the role of pumping up the team and motivating them. I do not know it that player is Bergeron, or Mark Stuart, or Tuuka, or veteran winger Mark Recchi, or enforcer Shawn Thornton, but somebody has to do it. Claude Julien does not seem to be the fiery motivator in the locker room. Julien is a good Xs and Os guy but there should be a player who inspires this team to play to their fullest potential. They might not be able to win a series against Buffalo, or Pittsburgh, or Jersey, or Washington, but they need to at least show us that they can hit hard, and make those teams earn every point they score. The slogan going into the season was "Big and Bad Are Back", so they need to prove that this is true.
If the Bruins can gain some momentum from a strong showing this year, next year should be a huge bounce back season. Thanks to the dismal play of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins have a 67% chance of getting either the #1 or 2 pick in the draft. Chiarelli has been criticized for the signings he made, but I still think this was a great move. Phil Kessel is a great scorer but clearly did not want to be in Boston. It is good that they have a chance to really improve the team for the long run with this draft because they need another scoring force. Kessel can stay in Toronto. The Bruins will be better off without him.
Whatever happens in the next few weeks, the Bruins will still be my favorite team. I can only hope that they get better and that they play tougher hockey, but only time will tell. Just last year, they were the class of the Eastern Conference. I hope they get there again. It is too bad that they declined in play this year when we were supposed to be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Stanley Cup winning team. Hopefully by next year, the Big Bad Bruins will make their return.
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