BOSTON — It’s like performance art at this point. Just how low can the Boston Bruins go? How bad can they look? How much of a stinky mess can they make on the stage?
The Bruins are “only” 8-9-3 on the season, and are still somehow clinging to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But watching them play professional ice hockey has been a masterwork of futility, each game a new tableau of struggle and slop. The B’s come out of Monday night’s 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets 23rd in goals, 30th in goals against, dead-last in power play, and 25th in penalty killing.
And there was barely any sign of life, no answers, for any of those areas on Monday. They went 1-for-6 on the power play, but ended up a minus-2 in those situations because they allowed two shorthanded goals. Somehow out-shot 24-23 at five-on-five, despite a 13-5 edge in high-danger chances. No punch, except from Jeffrey Viel’s fists, and even that didn’t give the Bruins the spark it needed.
In fact, Viel’s insertion into the lineup seemed to have the opposite effect. The Bruins finished with just 13 hits as a team, three by Viel. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov, signed mainly to bring a physical presence to the back end, had just one. Jim Montgomery is running out of buttons to push on this lineup, and not only are his moves not working, they’re backfiring spectacularly, they’re siphoning life out of a team that already looks like it’s on life support.
For captain Brad Marchand, the main overarching problem is “compete level.” The Bruins may have made some roster-building mistakes in the off-season, they may lack the scoring touch they need to keep up with the best teams, but they’re better than this. And outside of major changes within the roster, coaching staff, or front office, which could still be coming, it starts with their top guys playing the way they need to play, and everyone following suit, and doing that consistently.
“In this league, you have to have the highest compete every night if you want to be a good team,” Marchand said. “We have it through periods of a game. We have it at times, and when we do, we’re really good. But then we get in these other moments of the game when we think we’re a skill team, and we want to play through the middle of the ice. That’s not us. We have to understand what our identity is and play to that, and we’ve yet to do that really for a full 60-minute game.”
Apparently, some guys aren’t getting the memo about how unskilled the Bruins are as a team. It must be showing up in practice, because that’s where Charlie Coyle believes their compete level problems can start to improve, and he’s not seeing it.
“When you’re not winning games, you can be better, and I think that starts in practice,” Coyle said. “We can be better there.”
Viel Makes His Presence Felt
Boston Bruins forward Jeffrey Viel fights with Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier during a game at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
Viel’s Bruins debut didn’t come close to providing the spark that Montgomery was hoping for, but he certainly went out and did what was asked of him in his own right. He dropped the gloves with the Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier just 2:12 into the game, dished out three hits, and drew a penalty.
He did commit a penalty of his own, but a guy that plays his style will often take the “good” kind of penalties, the product of playing an aggressive game that keeps the opponent on its heels. Unfortunately, his energy wasn’t nearly enough to transfer over to his teammates. But it’s good to know they have him in their back pocket if they could use him at a later date.
Swayman Shaky
Nov 18, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Mathieu Olivier (24) reacts with center Adam Fantilli (19) after scoring a goal during the first period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
Jeremy Swayman and Montgomery both denied that the goaltender’s absence from training camp has played a role in his rough start to the season. But it’s getting harder and harder to come up with an explanation for why Swayman hasn’t looked remotely as sharp as you’d hope to see from a guy that just signed an 8-year, deal for $8.25 million per year.
Swayman has gotten little favors from the guys in front of him, but he is now being paid like a guy expected to bail his teammates out, to overcome mistakes in the defensive end, to come up with stops when he has no business doing it, to steal games. Hell, even steal a period. But Swayman leaked a little too much Monday night, particularly when Olivier (18 goals in 185 career games) turned into Mario Lemieux and beat him through the five-hole for a shorthanded tally.
Swayman knows he has to be better, but it’s long been time for him to put those words into practice. He’s always been one to project a positive attitude, which is even hard for him right now. But this team needs that, especially on the ice, now more than ever in his career.
“I think the biggest thing that I lost out on [missing camp] was this group, and I’m really trying to engulf just being in the room again and being a leader, and I want my play to speak for that,” Swayman said. “I need to step up, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Merkulov’s Hidden Assist
Bruins forward Georgii Merkulov (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Believe it or not, there’s a small silver lining among these dark clouds. Forward Georgii Merkulov has strung two good games together, and at 24 years old with 2-plus seasons in Providence under his belt, has a real chance to stick at the NHL level now.
Merkulov didn’t get an assist on the Bruins’ lone goal of the game, but he played a major part in its creation. He took a Jack Edwards serpentine route through the neutral zone to sneak through where the blue line met the boards, a clean and shockingly effective zone entry, compared to what we’ve seen from the Bruins overall so far.
He followed that up by getting the puck deep in the zone. The sequence allowed everyone else to settle into their positions and sustain zone time, ultimately leading to Coyle’s goal. Bruins leadership has preached the little things, harped on the details to help get their game going, and it’s plays like that from Merkulov that can sneaky spark an offense.
We’ll see if Merkulov can stay in the NHL for an extended time, but he’s earned the right to keep playing over the past two games.
