At this point in the season, with the start of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs officially less than a month away, there’s really no final result that should shake the foundation of your feelings about this Bruins team and what they may or may not do when the postseason begins.
By now, they are what they are. And, you know what, that’s for the most part been a damn good thing. The fact that this team, which lost every free agent and made bargain-bin additions as a result of a failed all-in year a season ago, is in legitimate contention for the Presidents’ Trophy simply confirms as much. But they are also an obviously flawed team in a league full of similarly flawed teams, and those flaws do creep to the surface every now and then. A bit more often lately than in, say, January. Of course. And though I don’t have the exact stat handy, but I believe the season has now ended after every single regular-season loss.
Nobody’s saying anything new — or even anything that I’d consider mildly interesting — when it comes to their playoff fate.
Marchand irate with non-call
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – FEBRUARY 26: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins reacts during the third period Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on February 26, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Saturday in Philadelphia came with the return of Mad Brad, with B’s captain Brad Marchand absolutely incensed when a knee-on-knee hit from the Flyers’ Erik Johnson went uncalled in the first period of play.
Brad Marchand takes a dangerous knee on knee hit from Erik Johnson, chews out the refs for not calling anything, and gets 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.
— Bear With Me (@BearWithMe_Pod) March 23, 2024
As Jack says in the clip, this type of hit ends careers. Don't blame Marchand for losing his cool here. pic.twitter.com/jdhUmh8Ish(The fact that Marchand was eventually penalized for this for his freak-out is all kinds of embarrassing officiating. When you mess up a call — and mess it up egregiously at that — you simply can’t effectively double down on that and assess a penalty for a guy chewing you out for it. Was Marchand giving them hell? Of course. But whether or not you like Marchand or his history, he’s the captain of a team and deserves more leeway in that moment and given the hit itself.)
Of course, what you don’t like about this sequence beyond the hit itself is that Johnson was not made to answer for the hit. Trent Frederic had a lengthy chat with Johnson later in the period, but Johnson opted not to dance. (Johnson has just three fighting majors in the last seven seasons, so maybe that’s not much of a surprise there.)
But Marchand was clearly unsatisfied with the end result of *waves hands about* everything, and had a face-to-face with the Flyers’ Scott Laughton at the final horn of this contest.
It absolutely does not help that Marchand is mired in a pretty big slump by his standards, with just one goal in his last 15 games played. Marchand has remained an effective passer over that span, with nine assists over that 15-game span, but it’s painfully obvious that Marchand wants to get career goal No. 400 over and done with at this point. It’s also possible that Marchand is playing through a little something after the B’s kept him off the ice for Friday’s practice in Brighton.
Brazeau remains sizzlin’
TORONTO, CANADA – MARCH 4: Justin Brazeau #55 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on March 4, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
It’s insanely early, we all know and acknowledge, but Bruins rookie Justin Brazeau is looking like a potential keeper.
On the board with his fourth goal in the last three games (and becoming the first B’s rookie to score in three straight games since Brad Marchand did so in Jan. 2011), Brazeau’s night finished with a promotion and a big one at that, with the big-bodied wing moved to the right of Charlie Coyle and Marchand for the third period of play.
BRAZEAU TIES IT! pic.twitter.com/cXjYhcrcwc
— Marina Maher (@marinakmaher) March 23, 2024Speaking after the loss, Montgomery seemed rather noncommittal when it comes to sticking with those lines moving forward, but there’s no denying that Brazeau has earned a promotion somewhere in this lineup. Be it up the lineup, perhaps to the right of Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie on Boston’s third line if not with Coyle and Marchand, or an elevation from the Black and Gold’s second power-play unit to the first.
Pastrnak has unusually quiet day
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – FEBRUARY 26: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on February 26, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Maybe we all should’ve realized that this wasn’t going to the B’s day when David Pastrnak failed to take things over early. This is a franchise that Pastrnak has outright owned throughout his career. Boston’s superstar entered Saturday’s game with an eight-game point streak against the Flyers, and had totaled 20 goals and 32 points in his last 18 head-to-heads against the Flyers. But on Saturday, Pastrnak finished with zero points and just one shot on goal.
The Bruins are now 7-8-6 (a .476 point percentage) this season when Pastrnak finishes a game without a point compared to 34-8-9 (a .755 point percentage) when finds the scoresheet in some fashion.
Everything else
Oct 2, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson (33) makes a save against Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. (Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports)
– An extremely tough game to analyze for both Linus Ullmark and Danton Heinen. Ullmark was absolutely nails for 40 minutes and then some, but allowed at least one ‘meh’ third-period tally that made the difference. Heinen, meanwhile, made an ill-advised play along the boards that turned the puck over and directly led to Philly’s game-winning goal late in the third period of play. Not great! Buuuuuuut, the Bruins aren’t even in this game without Ullmark’s efforts and they’re not in a position to win it late without Heinen’s game-tying goal. That’s hockey, baby.
– So, we’ve seen deadline addition Andrew Peeke with Parker Wotherspoon, Kevin Shattenkirk, and now Mason Lohrei. Of that group, I feel like the Wotherspoon-Peeke combo has been Boston’s best third pairing option. Especially if the Bruins want to play a more simplified, meat-and-potatoes kind of game from a defensive standpoint.
– You know, I’m not quite convinced that Bruce Cassidy would’ve gone full John Tortorella, but the recent fiasco with Flyers captain Sean Couturier, with the veteran Flyer repeatedly scratched by Tortorella, is a reason why the Bruins weren’t so absolutely, over-the-moon in love with the idea of bringing Zdeno Chara back in 2021. There was talk that the Bruins wanted to manage his minutes — there was even a rumor that they made no guarantees when it came to his playing time or deployment — and the idea of sitting the captain every so often made some people uneasy. Again, these situations aren’t totally the same, but this was something that the B’s were mindful of a few years ago.
