We are only seven games into the Boston Bruins season. Again, it is only seven games. The Bruins are 3-3-1 after consecutive losses ended a three-game road trip unceremoniously. The Bruins began the trip with a 5-3 win over a then-winless Colorado Avalanche team and followed it up with defeats to Utah (2-1 in overtime) and Nashville (4-0). The club was left with many questions before people even tried on their Halloween costumes. The season is still young, but some of the trends make Bruins fans (and their head coach) a little uneasy. Here are five takeaways from the Bruins’ latest loss in Nashville on Tuesday night:
Undisciplined and Unacceptable
The Bruins are the sixth youngest team in the National Hockey League and are playing like it. Head Coach Jim Montgomery has been preaching discipline for a couple of weeks now and the team does not seem to be understanding the ramifications of their careless play. Boston has committed 40 minor penalties (six against Nashville) which leads the NHL. Defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov have each taken seven minor penalties and Zadorov leads the team with 21 penalty minutes. Max Jones took two offensive zone penalties in the first period that were, in a word, offensive. The Bruins need to be more disciplined in their play as well after committing 18 more giveaways in the loss. The coach has talked about this a few times. It might be time to listen.
Line Shuffling With No Results
Montgomery has been known to mix up his lines at a moment’s notice, and Tuesday night was no different. After scoring just one goal at Utah and getting limited production from his top-six forward group, Montgomery moved and changed every line except for the effective fourth line. What resulted was a shutout at the hands of Juuse Saros and the Predators. General Manager Don Sweeney said before the season that the lineup was an unfinished product and a top-line winger was an area of need. The issues might go beyond that.
Monty’s Status Might Be in Danger
The message that Montgomery is sending does not seem to be translating through the team. Aside from calling out the Bruins’ lack of discipline, Montgomery also lit into captain Brad Marchand on the bench in the loss to Utah. It was the first visible evidence that Montgomery’s frustration level might be an indicator that the third-year coach is feeling the heat. The Bruins have not elected to extend Montgomery beyond this season yet, which is a tad puzzling considering the fact that the coach has had very successful regular seasons at the helm. It is hard not to believe that Boston’s management is unsure if Montgomery is the proper coach going forward. Although it is early in the season, this is a development worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks.
The Bruins Look Slow
The Bruins made a concerted effort to get bigger and heavier this offseason. The defense is huge across the board, and the forward group’s bottom-six is big and physical. The question is whether adding size was the right move. The team as a whole looks slow, and their breakouts out of their own zone have suffered. The team seems to be getting beaten to loose pucks at an alarming rate. Boston needs to play more to their strength, and get the puck in deep and win battles. Up to this point, that hasn’t happened nearly enough.
The Bruins Have Been Very Generous
The Bruins have been giving the puck away constantly and that culminated in another 18 giveaways last night after committing 22 giveaways against Utah. Part of the problem is exiting the defensive zone. Boston has turned too many pucks over trying to advance the puck to quickly. Teams seem to have scouted Boston’s tendency to pass the puck ahead quickly and are making it difficult for Boston to create any smooth breakouts. This is an adjustment that should be made by the coaching staff, if this is in fact, the staff to do it.
It is only seven games. However, Thursday’s home game against 5-2-0 Dallas might be the most important eight game of the season in recent memory.
