courtesy of zimbio.com

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

Blah.

That’s the best phrase to describe the Bruins’ effort last night. One game after clawing back to force overtime against the Blackhawks–one of the league’s best–they delivered an absolute stinker, losing 2-0 to the lowly Leafs.

That’s right, the same team that gave up 12 goals to the Bruins in their first two meetings this season. The same team that, heading into the game, had allowed the most goals in the NHL.

And as for the Bruins getting back into that “one of the league’s best” category–after a four-game losing streak, it’s starting to look like some of the early-season problems are reemerging. The night-and-day difference between the last two games sums up what has plagued the players and driven fans insane: flashes of last year’s brilliance–as demonstrated by Friday night’s impressive display of resilience–but no consistent finish, few timely plays and little sense of urgency.

The offense continues its torturous path of unpredictability. With Milan Lucic on the shelf, Marc Savard simply doesn’t have anyone to dish the puck to. His revolving door of wingers in the past few weeks, from Blake Wheeler and Byron Bitz to Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder, has produced virtually nothing; Savard is pointless in the last five games. Claude Julien himself may as well have suited up and skated alongside Savard last night, because Sturm and Ryder basically served as Joey Galloways to Savard’s Tom Brady: completely useless.

As for the rest of the forwards, Julien has had difficulty finding balance. The Bruins have outstanding depth at center: Savard, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron are all exceptional talents and first-line NHLers, in my opinion. But it’s a problem when your three best forwards play on three different lines, and can’t seem to find anyone to finish the scoring chances they create.

Maybe it’s time to play Bergeron and Krejci together, perhaps shifting Krejci to the wing because of Bergeron’s value in the faceoff circle. As evidenced by Krejci’s tying goal on Friday night off of Bergeron’s rebound, good things happen when your best players are on the ice together.

Three Up:

-The Bruins can largely thank Krejci for that point Friday night. His first multi-goal game in exactly a year wasn’t necessarily the prettiest display, but he showed a willingness to drive to the net that has been lacking for many of the Bruins this year. After an ice-cold start to the season, many people wondered whether his 2008-09 breakout–which included a stretch of 39 points in 25 games–was a costly aberration. If you recall, Krejci’s multi-year deal this past offseason was a significant nail in the coffin for Phil Kessel’s career in Boston. But with nine points in his last nine, complemented by a serious uptick in his playmaking and puck-possession game, he appears to be gaining steam.

-Tuukka Rask’s first goal against Toronto was a softie, and Tim Thomas demonstrated persistent issues with his seemingly enlarged five-hole on Friday night, but let’s face it–goaltending isn’t the issue. Both goaltenders bailed out their defense on numerous occasions over the weekend, giving the players in front of them a chance to stay in the game.

-Johnny Boychuk is making his case for a permanent spot in the lineup, registering his second goal of the season against Chicago and temporarily stirring viewers from their boredom with his monster open-ice hit on Matt Stajan in the third period last night.

Three Down:

-Byron Bitz is a -7 in his past four games; Andrew Ference is a -6 in his past eight–although he registered a primary assist on Chicago’s first goal with his beautiful feed out front to Kris Versteeg.

-Tim Thomas is winless in his past four appearances and has just three wins in his past 13 starts.

-Derek Morris missed Saturday night’s contest with an undisclosed injury; with Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman already out, the Bruins are now missing half of their regular defensive corps.

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