By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer

It’s no secret that the Bruins have been gliding on thin ice for weeks now, fighting to maintain their wobbly grasp on a spot in the Eastern Conference’s top eight–a spot that even the most skeptical of fans thought was guaranteed heading into the season.

But after a humiliating 5-1 loss to the bottom-feeding Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, the ice has officially cracked. In fact, the Bruins have fallen straight through to the bottom with a resounding thud.

Losers of five straight overall, Boston has now slipped from fifth in the conference to ninth in a matter of one week. More damage is possible during the next four days–the Bruins are idle until Friday night and could potentially be leapfrogged by four more teams over that span. Yes, that means that it is entirely feasible that the Boston Bruins will be thirteenth in the Eastern Conference come Friday, an absolutely stunning fall from grace for a team that once harbored Stanley Cup expectations.

Assessing the carnage is a lengthy task. Defensively, the Bruins are a mess, starting with the captain. Zdeno Chara has just four goals on the season and has struggled in all aspects of his defensive game. However, he’s played like Bobby Orr in comparison to Dennis Wideman, who has inexplicably morphed into a full-blown, one-man horror show, providing opponents with bountiful scoring opportunities on an almost nightly basis. And, with just 15 points in 45 games, it isn’t like the offensive numbers have been there, either. Derek Morris has been mediocre at best, Matt Hunwick is having an abysmal sophomore campaign, and the rest of the defensive corps has featured a revolving door of injured regulars and minor-league call-ups.

The goaltenders, bright spots for much of the season, have only recently succumbed to the underachieving poison that has spread through the rest of the team. Tim Thomas was yanked after allowing 4 goals on 15 shots against the Hurricanes. Granted, many of those weren’t entirely his fault, but the truth is that he’s failed to make key saves all season long. Tuukka Rask was stellar in the 2009 portion of the season, but hasn’t won in a month, allowing 10 goals in his last 3 starts.

Of course, the Bruins’ main struggles this season have been up front. After finishing second in the league in offense a year ago, they currently rank dead last with just 127 goals to their credit. Take Patrice Bergeron away from the group of Boston forwards and you have a laundry list of sputtering, injury-prone, underachieving players.

Milan Lucic and Marc Savard are essentially enduring lost seasons, having missed considerable time with injuries. Michael Ryder has been healthy, but unfortunately useless with just 12 goals and 8 assists in 51 games. Blake Wheeler has only shown improvement in spurts, yet somehow sits second on the team with 29 points in 51 games. David Krejci will be lucky to crack the 45-point barrier after scoring 73 last season. Marco Sturm, out with a leg injury since Jan. 14, leads the team with 15 goals but has just 9 assists on the season. Mark Recchi has just 9 goals all season. His veteran presence has been valuable, but that ain’t going to put the puck in the net.

What the Bruins really need is help from the outside. Savard and Sturm are on the verge of returning, but that isn’t the long-term solution for this sputtering engine. It’s like plugging up a crack in the Hoover dam with a piece of gum. Maybe a temporary lift for a game or two, but let’s be realistic–Savard isn’t a goal-scorer, and there isn’t anyone to bury his feeds. Marco is far too inconsistent to be relied upon. If this team wants to reassert itself, it’s going to have to make a trade. Don’t be surprised to see some personnel changes before the puck drops in Buffalo on Friday night.

While the time to panic may have arrived, the season isn’t over–far from it, in fact. But the time for making excuses has ended. Much of the inconsistency has been blamed on the constant lineup changes caused by injuries, as well as the condensed Olympic schedule. But it’s become pretty clear that this team just simply can’t cut it.

And when you can’t cut it, the heads start to roll.

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