Unfortunately, the Bruins are better at losing than winning so there will be no 12-game winning streak to end the regular season. The Bruins are down to only six games remaining in the season and these six games are very important. Well, important if they want to be playing hockey and not golf in late April. The Black and Gold currently stand in the worst spot possible in the playoff race. They’re sitting in 8th place with Atlanta only two points behind and the Rangers four points back. As things stand right now, the Bruins would face the Capitals in the first round. This could all change if the Boston can manage to sneak past Montreal and Philadelphia into the 6th position.
To help the Black and Gold stay in the playoff race, they will need Michael Ryder to start showing up to games. He still has not done anything to help put wins on the board. There is a very capable replacement for Ryder sitting in the press box itching to get his chance. Brad Marchand is a player that will always give you everything he’s got. That is something I don’t always see from Ryder. He may be giving his all but it’s hard to tell. He doesn’t hit, make plays, or score. Marchand will at least create havoc wherever he goes and get under the skin of the other team. That’s better than Ryder just skating around right? I don’t know what Julien is waiting for but Ryder needs to sit.
Looking at the overall future for the Bruins, I can’t say that it looks very promising. I’m not giving up on them but I’m just not expecting much from them. They have had their bright spots this season but those bright spots have been matched by injuries, a horrible 10-game losing streak, and just bad play overall. As a mentioned before, Boston is sitting in 8th and would face the Caps in the first round. Do I think this is an impossible task? No, of course not. Any team in the NHL can beat any other team in the NHL on any given day. And yes, I remember in 2008 when the Bruins took Montreal to game 7 when they weren’t supposed to but that team just seems different. They were the big and bad Bruins. They were the underdogs but they played complete games and never gave up.
Maybe this year will be the year because the team seems so bad and then they’ll ending up doing well. If the Bruins do finish in 8th and face the Caps in the first round, it will be a trip to the quarterfinals of epic proportions or complete defeat. I believe that the 2009-10 Boston Bruins can most definitely beat the Caps (or the Pens if they finish in 7th) but it all depends on who shows up to play. You know the Caps and Pens are going to come with all they have. However, with the Bruins, it is not necessarily the case. Many times when the Black and Gold lost this year, they simply just looked horrible on the ice. Yes, there were some games that were tough losses but many were ugly.
I don’t think the Bruins are giving up or don’t have the heart but something is just not working. How can they go from playing great against the Rangers and Thrashers to looking like slugs against Tampa to great against the Flames to ugly against Buffalo? Consistency is severely lacking this year and Boston has six regular season games to figure it out and carry it into the playoffs. I have a feeling that if you take any seven games in a row from this season there is no time where the Bruins win four of those seven games. The Boston Bruins can make it to the playoffs and possibly get into the second round. It’s hard to think that they could beat the Caps and the Penguins to advance any further.
The Bruins play the Caps twice more before the end of the season. If the Bruins play the game they can and take it to the Caps, maybe my outlook will change a little. The way the Black and Gold play these last six games will dictate whether they make the playoffs and how they will do in the playoffs. These six games could also instill more disappointed in the Hub of Hockey and turn our focus on to our friends at Yawkey Way.
Let’s hope the focus stays on Causeway for now and that the ice at the Garden stays frozen just a little longer.
Kristin Carbone
Pierce Arrow Blogger
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