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Boston Bruins: What Needs To Change?

By Catherine Silverman

Dec 17, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (37) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (37) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Boston Bruins are becoming apparent in their desperation for some offense

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli made it more than clear that he doesn’t plan on making any trades until his stars are comfortably back in the lineup — and by that, I mean David Krejci.

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The top line center was activated off injured reserve Wednesday night; conveniently, the team took home a much-needed, long-forgotten win. The Bruins had dropped three straight following a solitary win over the Arizona Coyotes; prior to that 5-2 victory, the defending President’s Trophy winners had suffered through three straight losses in California at the hands of the Kings, the Ducks, and even the San Jose Sharks.

Even with Krejci back in the lineup, though, it’s become apparent that this season’s Boston Bruins are a far cry from last season’s powerhouse.

Milan Lucic remains one of the team’s main contributors in terms of offensive size and aggression, but Krejci’s lengthy absence from the lineup — prior to Wednesday night, the center hadn’t appeared in a game since November 18th — made Lucic’s dependency on his long-time linemate painfully obvious. The team possesses a lethal offensive trio in the Bergeron line (made up of alternate captain Patrice Bergeron, flanked by Brad Marchand on his left and Reilly Smith on his right), but the team has seen a steep drop-off in production after those three.

The biggest problem, it seems, is the team’s third line. Alternate captain Chris Kelly remains a more than respectable third line center, but his wingers — typically Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson — struggled to perform when tasked with extra minutes to compensate for holes in the lineup. Soderberg has scored plenty for the team, including a goal Wednesday night, but Eriksson — still boasting only a handful of goals on the season — has fallen short of the team’s expectations for the Swede when they obtained him in the Tyler Seguin trade with the Dallas Stars.

With Zdeno Chara leading one of the league’s most lethal defensive corps, the Bruins are hurting most on offense — but with so few movable pieces left to offer, this team could find themselves struggling to even see the post-season this spring.

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