The Boston Bruins have been one of the most successful teams in the NHL throughout the past decade. They have been to the playoffs every year since 2016-17, making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2019 and setting the league record for wins and points in 2023. However, they have fallen apart in recent weeks and they have gone from a likely playoff performer to a team that is all but assured of getting locked out of the postseason. High-scoring right winger David Pastrnak has not liked what he has seen from his team as the Bruins have lost seven consecutive games and 10 of their last 12.
The Bruins were on the wrong end of a 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday night, and that came on the heels of a 7-2 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks are a young team on the outside of the playoff structure, but they have some talented young players and they have shown improvement. The Kings are in second place in the Pacific Division and have dominated on home ice this season.
The Bruins and head coach Joe Sacco were non-competitive in both of those games. They have also lost to non-playoff teams like the San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators.
Pastrnak does not like what he has seen from his team in recent weeks. He was somewhat despondent after the loss to the Ducks. “We have to be better than that and start building something here,” Pastrnak said, via Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. “Because right now, we have nothing.”
Bruins were sellers at the trade deadline
The Bruins started to play ordinary hockey in February when they lost back-to-back games against the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights despite taking leads into the third period of both games. That downward spiral precipitated a sell-off at the trade deadline that saw the Bruins send Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic and team captain Brad Marchand out of town.
The loss of Marchand appears to have weakened the team’s performance on the ice and diminished them in the locker room.
In addition to making the playoffs in the last eight seasons, the Bruins have been constant postseason performers since the 1967-68 season. That was the legendary Bobby Orr’s second season in the NHL, and they have made the playoffs in 49 of the next 56 seasons. Since the start of that run, the Bruins have never missed the playoffs more than two years in a row.
Pastrnak is clearly the team’s best player. He has scored 35 goals and 50 assists in 73 games this season. Pastrnak is one of the league’s top goal scorers. He has scored 34 goals or more in eight of his last nine seasons.
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