What’s WRONG with the Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

What’s WRONG with the Bruins? | Pucks with Haggs

Welcome to another edition of the pucks with hags podcast I believe this is the 64th episode of the pucks with hags podcast so the post Brad plus one Brad marshand episode of the podcast with him uh coming up on a thousand games played in the NHL uh on Tuesday that should be

Pretty pretty awesome uh great moment um but thanks for for tuning in am your host Joe Hagerty you can find my work at Joe hager. substack docomo’s writing sent straight to your inbox uh you can also find my work at Boston Sports journal.com uh after every Bruins game

Uh file a colum uh work with Greg Bard Mike Gard a host of talented people over there so uh go check them out as well um let’s get to our sponsors real quick too and thank them uh Factor meals America’s number one ready to eat meal kit uh

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Boston to sign up all right um where do I begin the Boston Bruins man this this is going to be a mailbag episode of the pucks with hags podcast uh I’m going to be answering your questions but let’s also like talk about the elephant in the

Room uh lost three to nothing to the Vancouver not the Vancouver connects lost three to nothing to the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon just dropped an absolute stink bomb um no effort no energy uh very lethargic nobody really ever stepped up and and created a spark they had four shots on

Net in the first period and the second period um and that was coming off a good win against Vancouver a couple days before and then before that uh a similarly ugly bad loss uh 4 to1 to the Calgary Flames uh that was the first game back from the NHL All-Star break

And I think some of that was explained away uh by being the first game back from the break they hadn’t played in nine or 10 days there was obviously some Rust um but they just did not look like themselves and you know they they did that again against Washington and it’s

Really against the two teams non-playoff teams teams that you might take for granted going into a game like that or think it’s going to be an easy win uh you begin to realize at this time of year with about 30 or so games left in the regular season only a few months

Left until the playoffs that every game is going to be hard every single night uh teams are fighting for playoff position teams are fighting to stay in the playoffs teams that are out of the playoffs uh those players are fighting for jobs and fighting to stay on the

Team that they’re on um and already worrying about next year so they become incredibly competitive tough games um over the last few months of the season and that’s a good thing that gets uh teams like the Boston Bruins ready for the playoffs but I would I I think the

Biggest takeaway I have from uh these losses and what’s going on is just that they weren’t ready uh for the ratcheting up of the intensity they just don’t have the urgency some of these other teams do this late in the season where they’re already locked up for the playoffs and

They’re going to be totally fine and even if they go on a you know a 500 stretch they’re still a playoff team they may not end up the number one team in the Eastern Conference in the Atlantic division but they’re going to be perfectly comfortable and be in the

Playoffs so I I just don’t think they’re going to have the same urgency that some of these other teams are going to have and the hunger that some of these other teams are going to have and that’s good um you know adversity like this getting booed uh off the ice on on Saturday

Afternoon against the Washington Capitals honestly I think that becomes a good thing I think that is something that last year’s team did not experience during the regular season uh and it was clear when the the poop hit the fan in the playoffs against the Florida Panthers they weren’t ready for that

Kind of adversity they weren’t ready um you know for that kind of resistance for that kind of trouble that they hadn’t had all year um and they weren’t prepared to deal with it in the room on the ice uh you know the coaching staff I don’t think was ready for that kind of

Adversity being thrown at any of them and it it they did not respond well enough or quickly enough um to what was going on against the Panthers so now they’re getting it this year and they’ve gotten it in Pockets this year um which I think is good uh you know overall

Obviously nobody ever wants to get boot off the ice and that was not a fun game to watch on Saturday uh regardless of uh who you’re I guess if you’re a capitals fan it was fun to watch but I think for pretty pretty much anybody else it

Wasn’t an exciting brand of hockey and it certainly wasn’t uh two teams really going at each other it was one team just DOA on arrival just didn’t even show up so um I think we’re going to see pockets of this uh through the rest of the

Season I I when it gets this time of year and a team is in a playoff spot you start to see the you know they’ll win three or four in a row and they’ll play really well and then they’ll lose a few in a row and they won’t look well and

There’s these wild swings back and forth between uninspired hockey um and you know correcting things and looking pretty good and I think the Bruins maybe are in that play where we’re going to see them sort of waver back and forth and and play you know close to 500 I

Think they’re going to lose probably some more games down the stretch here um if they have no shows uh obviously like they did against the flames in the capitals but the the thing that’s too bad about it is um they had a seven game home stand coming out of the All-Star

Break they’re home basically for you know two plus weeks um which is unheard of in the NHL during the regular season uh and this could have been a chance for them to really like soar and really separate themselves from everybody else and create a huge cushion uh and they’re

Not going to be able to do that when they play when they you know punt away games against non-playoff teams like Calgary and and um Washington but um by the same token I think it’s not such a bad thing that they don’t separate like if they have teams chasing them if they

Feel like uh teams are catching up to them if they feel like they’re playing for something um down the stretch and the games have some level of gravity whether it’s playing for position or you know just playing to make sure their game is right going into the playoffs I

Think it’ll be a little different than it was last year where they just ran away from everybody and had nothing to play for for a few months at the end of the season so um this is not the worst thing in the world but I think when you

Talk to hockey people and I actually had a conversation with a longtime hockey person yesterday after the game was over um and we were both agreeing we’re like this is just the part of the Season where you see this from teams that have long since clinched a playoff birth against

Um other teams that are hungry and and have something to play for you see some games where they’re just not ready to play with the same kind of desperation and energy and and urgency that some of these other teams are and I think we’ve seen that a couple of times uh but

There’s some you know other interesting points to be made uh as we get into the mailbag here but just in general uh I would not panic after a loss like uh the capitals or the Flames two out of the last three games um I think Brad Martian

Said it pretty well when it’s you know is he concern no there’s no concern they’re fine uh they’ve just had a couple of losses and they move on I think he’s got it in the right perspective because he’s seen this happen before and he knows that this

Isn’t going to be a tail spin this is just kind of where they are in the season and there’s going to be some games like this uh along the way the the trick is not to have too many of them in a row be able to pull yourself out of it

Uh and be able to have uh some good performances but like 3:30 in the afternoon against Washington on a Saturday uh that is not uh that that was not even close the Bruins were a complete no-show and that I I’d say that was the worst loss of the year because

They just did not show up and never showed up four shots on net each in the first and second period not a lot of life in the third uh Jim Montgomery basically like saying all right the room is yours players for the third period because he was just he’d had it with

What he’d seen on the ice in the first couple of periods that’s uh that’s not what we’ve seen typically out the Bruins but we’ve seen it a couple times this year where Montgomery felt like he had to challenge them criticize them for their play get on them a little bit uh

And it’s interesting that that that bit of coaching is going on this year when it it wasn’t happening uh last year uh with that team happy Super Bowl to all who celebrate from FanDuel sports book America’s number one sports book if you’re like me Super Bowl Sunday is all

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Sportsbook partner of the NFL all right uh let’s get into some of the emails some of the Facebook messages um from f collabro 428 hags why does this team play down to its competition caps 22 and 20 losing five six in a row two inconsistent very concerning well they weren’t I mean look

They haven’t been that inconsistent um they wouldn’t be in first place in the Atlantic division in the Eastern Conference and be up there with Vancouver as the best record in the league if they were inconsistent um they had a bad three- game stretch around Thanksgiving uh Charlie makoy was

Playing some of the worst hockey of his season and they gave up 17 goals in three games they had a rough stretch right before Christmas where they were not scoring any goals and not creating any offense um and now they’re having another rough stretch here uh coming out

Of the All-Star break having lost two or three and I think what we’ve seen is you know at times one way or the other um the schedule has been a factor things have caught up to them a little bit where they haven’t had their best brand of hockey they haven’t had their best

Energy they haven’t had their best legs and I think they need that I don’t think they’re talented enough to just blow teams off the ice like they were last year so um when the schedule kind of uh is a mitigating factor and kind of evens the playing field against other teams a

Little bit um and other teams are now putting the same level of effort and energy into it that the Bruins have been doing all season uh you’re going to see games like you saw uh in the last couple and you know if they were to play every

Two out of three games like this for a month uh especially against inferior competition I would start to be concerned uh but right now I’m going to look at it as face value and I I’m going to say they took Calgary lightly and Washington lightly coming out of the

Break they kind of thought they were going to be able to throw the pucks out there and and you know have their way with this seven game home stand coming out of the break and I think they were met with the reality the sudden reality that teams are playing harder now the

The level of intensity around the NHL for all these games because of what I me mentioned before uh players playing for jobs uh teams jockeying for playoff position just a lot of things on the line for a lot of players um the teams have met the intensity level and and

Elevated it and I think it’s going to take the Bruins a little bit to adjust to that uh when they were on the beach for a week uh at during the buy and the All-Star break and and then they come back to this and you know teams are

Going right for their throat they they certainly were not ready for that Calgary team that came in first game out of the break and just slapped them across the face I mean that was that Calgary team was at them very physical every whistle going at them pushing them around making physical statements and

The Bruins kind of turtled in that game they did not have a lot of push back enough not even close to enough and they weren’t ready for what Calgary was bringing in that game and I think that was a strong wakeup call that uh the Bruins need to up at a level uh

Intensity wise physicality wise uh just nastiness wise and I still think they need at the trade deadline some players that play that way to complement what they’re doing you know it it I think they should do something similar to what they did last year uh when they brought in heavy players from

Washington and or and halfway I think they need a heavy defenseman and a heavy forward um preferably a guy that plays center uh that can win faceoffs too uh for their bottom six so you bring in those two players and I think they’ve and added what to what they have and and

Sort of this uh raised level of intensity the Bruins need to have and I think they might be in a better place um you know be better prepared for the play playoffs but I I think this should be um a wakeup call that the Bruins need to add a little more physicality and

Intensity to their and heaviness to their roster and like team wide they just need to be more assertive um against physical teams and not wait for them to get pushed to push back you know and they should be the ones doing the pushing it’s it’s easier

Said than done when you’re in the spot that they’re in because they just you know it’s hard to manufacture desperation when you’re way ahead of everybody else in the conference in the division but the Bruins need to figure out a way to do that um but I you know

It’s similar to Brad Martian not being concerned about the Bruins and and saying yeah it’s a couple bad losses but we’re not you know concerned in this dressing room and being a good leader saying that I I I think when you look at this team when you look at the balance

Of what they’ve done this year not concerned about where they are and where they’re going they’re going to be a playoff team uh are is there some concern that we’re going to see some of this in the playoffs again like we did last year against Florida yes I I think

That is a concern and that’s why they need to go out of the trade deadline and get some heavier uh playoff style players uh some in- yourface players to add to what they have now cuz I think they need more of that and and that’s where it’s

Concerning all right uh hanky Tonk Man um Bruins were certainly listless but Washington is as flu shinzawa put it an in-your-face man-on-man coverage team Bruins are consistently bad against those teams that’s why they are not great versus Ottawa Panthers Etc Monty needs to work work on the Bruins on

Countering that style of play um do I think it’s because they play man-on-man defense no I I honestly you know I don’t think that I don’t think that’s a big issue I don’t think that’s something that is a huge problem for them or something that creates these

Issues they have with with certain teams I really don’t I I think it’s more about um with Florida it was much more about the Fourche um and them giving the defenseman trouble that’s not man-on-man defense that’s just their aggressive for check um I don’t think the man- on- man

Defense was was a big issue and you know was it was the man-on-man defense the reason they lost uh to Washington on Saturday afternoon no absolutely not they lost to Washington on Saturday afternoon because they didn’t show up they were still in a game one to nothing

For a long time in that game when they did not deserve to be in that game because Jeremy Swan was brilliant but they were right there if they’d shown any signs of Life whatsoever they could have won that game at least put it into overtime and gotten

A point out of it they just didn’t show up um and yeah Ottawa maybe has given them um some trouble this year but with the last couple of years but there’s always one team I think uh that’s not a playoff team that tends to give every other team some issues uh during the

Year and I think Ottawa is just that team uh for the Bruins um I just I don’t buy into that I think these are NHL players they can handle manto man they can handle Zone I don’t think it’s it’s a huge issue one way or the other the

Systems the systems I think are overrated in general I think the systems talk in the NHL is hugely overrated uh I think all these players can adapt to different systems I don’t think it takes them very long to learn the systems because they’re not that different um

You know maybe a game or two maybe a week and then and then they’re right back into it this isn’t the NFL where like there’s widely different you know offenses and defenses and it’s not like that um you know I I tend to shrug my shoulders a little bit when when it gets

Into deep systems talk with the NHL and with hockey cuz I think it’s overrated the importance of it there is some importance and there’s differences between man and man manto man defense and zone defense for sure or like a box in one or whatever they’re going to run um there’s differences there there

Definitely are um but to say a team has a weakness against one is strong against the I just don’t I don’t think that’s the case I think that’s really overstating the importance of of some of those strategies in in the defensive Zone I think it comes down to

Personality and it comes down to matchups uh with different teams and like the reason the Bruins lost to Florida last year was not because they run man-to-man defense it’s because they were an in-your-face physical team um that pushed the Bruins and the Bruins didn’t push back that was not about

Manto man that was about their mentality them being in your face physically and them trying to intimidate the Bruins it’s not about the defensive system it’s about the mentality they have as a team uh and the approach that they have as a team now that that gives the Bruins

Problems that is what it is it’s not the manto man it’s more the teams that really punch them in the mouth and wait for their reaction and consistently keep doing it and wait for the push back that doesn’t come and um Florida did that I think Calgary did that that first game

Out of the break that was classic bad game against a team that just started punching you in the mouth uh after every whistle and was waiting for you to respawn and the Bruins just never did it it’s like they were still on the beach and you know they didn’t they didn’t

Feel like uh you know getting into a fight uh you know they it just weren’t weren’t going to be up to the task and W didn’t didn’t want the trouble didn’t want the smoke uh as the street profits would say uh in that game against Calgary and I think there’s just too

Much of that uh when the Bruins play teams like that and I think that is the issue and that’s the big problem um and and like I said before to the other uh question the other email or the other Tweeter uh I think they have to address that by um trade deadline

Acquisitions I think that’s where they they fix that is bringing the mentality the team has now guys like makoy Martian leading the way Trent Frederick but it’s also about bringing in some other players that play that way so there’s more of a pack of of those guys to to

Sort of lead that charge um bevans Keith sometimes watching the NHL Bruins I wonder how they’ve won as many games as they have um I don’t they’ve they’re talented um but let’s make no mistake about it the biggest reason they’ve won as many games as they have is their goal

Tending um it really carried them in the first half of the year they’ve been much better offensively uh since Christmas um certainly they’ve tightened up defense in most instances not withstanding the last couple of games the Washington game and the Calgary game I think they’ve been on balance better at both

Offensively and defensively and much more the caliber of a team that you would expect to see uh as a top seed uh in the NHL but and make no mistake the reason they have the record they have right now the reason they’re in the spot that they’re in is because the gold

Enders Lena El Mark and Jeremy SW and the All-Star uh goalie this year really carried them in the first half of the year and they continue to do the job Jeremy Swan was the reason the Bruins were in that game against Washington on Saturday and it was one- nothing like

Halfway through the game and they were still very much in it uh was because he stopped 25 and 20 27 shots uh the the Caps dominated the first period uh and then going into the second they finally uh broke through um when they when they scored on that five minute major and

That’s kind of you know when the game started to change a little bit um but you can’t really you know blame Jeremy Swan I think he gave them every chance to win that game he was the best player in the ice and and essentially was let down uh by the way that the

Bruins played and and that’s been the story this year is how good the goalies have been so you know that covered a lot in the first half of the year but but to answer your question uh obviously they didn’t look like U president trophy caliber team and in the losses to

Calgary and Washington but you start you see that out of all the best teams right like Vancouver came in here as the best team in the west and laid an egg against the Bruins in Boston uh where the Bruins played well let’s face it but that was

Not the best that Calgary could bring and they kind of you know punted that game uh as well just like the Bruins did with a couple of their games at home and that’s I getting back to what I said at the beginning that’s what you see this

Time of year is you see the violent swings back and forth between good games and games where where they don’t show up and and you know it it’s it’s interesting the phenomenon in the NHL and how this happens at this time of year and certainly you’re GNA invite

Invoke the Wrath of the fans when you have games no shows like Saturday afternoon when you know fans are forking over hundred dollars for tickets to watch those kind of games but that stuff happens in the second half of the Year especially with a team that’s uh way out

In front of everybody else you it’s just the it shouldn’t be that way maybe it’s professional hockey they should bring the same level of intensity every single night and and you would expect that they’re going to bring their all and bring 100% but when you’ve been around the game enough and you’ve watched

Enough games and you get to know that these are people not robots um you start to understand that you know inert you see patterns and one of the patterns I’ve always seen is teams that are well into a playoff spot second half of the year the last few months that stretch

Run before the playoffs you’re going to see a lot of inconsistencies in their game you’re going to see good and bad and there’s really kind of no in between they sort of wildly swing between the two of them uh for the rest of the season we we saw this um when they won

The Cup in 2011 people forget this sometimes but they had some mad swings back and forth uh with that team towards the end of the year I think they went on a long winning streak after they uh after the trade deadline and they had a really good stretch when they got Cabret

When they got Chris Kelly when they got um peverly all those guys um but they ended the season sort of back and forth winning a few in a row losing a few in a row and that was kind of where they were at I I remember in 2013 when they got

The Stanley Cup Final uh against Chicago um CL Julian used to call that team Jacqueline Hyde because they were like that down the stretch too he didn’t know which team was going to show up and they would swing back and forth between really good and really ineffective and I

Think it drives the coaches nuts frankly because they don’t it’s it it’s tough as a hockey coach to go into a game and not really know what you’re going to get out of your team team that’s a bad feeling when you’re on the bench when you’re not

Sure what you’re going to get uh from everybody but it’s just that’s the nature of things and I think that’s what you see uh at the NHL level with teams that have uh put themselves in a pretty good spot all right uh hello here is a question for your hockey podcast with

Milan Lich out for good and the Bruins lacking four line fourth line toughness in the lineup what do you think of the chances for the Bruins to reacquire AJ Greer or NOK at the NHL trade deadline and that’s from Roger Perry uh via the Facebook fan page um I mean AJ GRE is

Interesting I’m sure it wouldn’t cost much to get a guy like that uh that back uh he provided some decent energy when he was here and decent speed and and you know was a good soldier as a fourth line guy he certainly had some you know times he took penalties where probably was

Unnecessary um but but certainly like tried to bring the energy every time he could noi I believe is hurt I don’t I don’t see them trading for noi or bringing him back um one interesting name and I I can’t remember if it was Conor Ryan or Mick or who mentioned this

On the podcast uh last week I think it was Brandon duim from Minnesota Wild that’s the kind of player I think the Bruins could use somebody that starts trouble somebody that’s physical somebody that’s in your face somebody that’s going to push you around after the whistles somebody that’s going to

You know constantly be dragging you into the fight in a game like uh Saturday whether you want to or not um I I that’s the kind of player especially with a team like Minnesota that you would expect is going to be selling off some of those players that’s the kind of

Player uh maybe you go out and get somebody had mentioned to me Marcus Felino uh that would be another interesting one I don’t know that Minnesota is going to be moving a player like that I think he’s a leader there and he’s a very important piece but um that’s another guy

That plays a hugely physical brand of hockey uh big strong tough brings a lot of attitude uh would protect his teammates would make everybody around him a little more courageous you know maybe it’s easy for him to come here because Nick played here and his brother and and liked it

Here and and you know kind of knows the the lay of the land and knows it’s a good situation here so maybe he spoke well of it to Marcus um but I think you know those kind of players somebody like that or Pat maroon is another one that

You’ve heard a lot and I think he brings sort of a a Swagger obviously from winning the cups and from being a big strong physical player and he’s actually popped in a few goals this year too I think those kind of players are what the Bruins should be looking at will be

Looking at they need an established veteran guy that plays bottom six that plays physical uh that’s going to bring an attitude uh to that uh fourth line and and is going to do frankly what they thought Milan Lich was going to do this year and they had planned for him to do

And and the fact that they haven’t had him has hurt the Bruins and has hurt their fourth line and has caused them to go with you know younger uh guys on the fourth line that don’t have as established uh ID as energy energy players in the NHL and um you know have

Been good at times but have not given the Bruins enough minutes enough impact enough anything um when they’ve been playing in those roles I still like loco I I think if you put Loco and maybe Johnny beer comes up again at some point uh or B boquist I think he’s played well

Too you can’t take it away from him but you find an established Winger to play with those two I think you’re was looking at a very good fourth line and a very effective fourth line uh Oscar Steen maybe is more cut out for a 13th forward type spot where he comes

In occasionally brings energy um but he’s been given a while now a half season to really show he could be an impactful fourth liner he’s been okay at times uh but just not enough of an impact to take away I think the need for to get a player like that uh at the

Trade deadline so I’m not looking at noi or Greer um you know maybe if they wanted a Faceoff guy which they could clearly use too they they go out and get a NOC type player uh to win faceoffs as a fourth line Center but I think they’d

Be much better off getting a physical iny fat iny face kind of a-hole kind of player um that that’s going to bring some of that uh out in the rest of the Bruins and bring that attitude uh come playoff time where’re they’re the aggressors and not the reactors as

They’ve been a lot uh in those situations when things get nasty all right um ma the fan O2 Joe I enjoy your podcast would be interested in hearing from you and your guests where berson rank among all time line mates figure Gretzky Curry Trader bossy and Leu lamu

Yaga are ahead in cups and points did Kane play regularly with Taves thanks I’m Gonna Save this one we’re gonna go back to this and I’m gonna have this as a tweet of the week with like Mick and maybe somebody else because I think this is a great question

Um but I just wanted to say that watching berson and Martian do their thing for a decade plus um or a decade um no decade plus like 15 years 16 years um no what am I saying no decade yes decade plus I was right the first time

Why am I even listening to myself um watching them for as long as I did uh was a privilege um great teammates great influence on each other complimented each other different people but different people that brought like really good qualities out of the other one which is what all great friendships

Are about um the chemistry that they played with the way that they played um you know the way they played when postr was with them as well and it was a Perfection line um the best duo no question about it in Bruin’s history and that puts them up there with these other Duos

Now yes they only won one cup so you know maybe when you look at some of the other ones like Gretzky G Curry and and lemu Yager and TR trade a bossi um they’re going to be a little bit behind them historically and that’s okay because we’re talking about all like

Hall of Fame players here but I they’re up there with those you know Combos and I think they were together longer than some of those other ones so you know I think you’ve got to give them their credit and you’ve got to say two things they were the greatest

Center Wing combo twom men line combo uh duo in Boston Bruins history like I think no question about it best duo in Bruins history as far as forwards go uh in the hundred-year Centennial history of the of the Bruins and I think that deserves all kinds of um chatter and

Discussion uh in this Centennial season for the Boston Bruins and they that puts them in the discussion of best alltime duo I do not think they were number one best alltime duo in NHL history um in my lifetime I’d probably give that to Gretzky and Yari curri although uh you

Know the other ones are great too but uh in my lifetime um I would probably put them number one but they’re in the conversation and just to be in that conversation is is pretty amazing so thank you for that question I am gonna save that and ask that one again Mack

The fan2 because I think that was outstanding all right uh last one how can the Bruins be so unbelievably bad stupid bad one night play lights out two days later and then be back to incredibly bad again two days later that’s why I don’t trust them definitely

Not an elite team one goalie injury from disaster from beanie Albert um I I think like as I mentioned a few times before I think it’s the time of year and I think every team look Vancouver Canucks were outstanding against Carolina coming out of the All-Star break and then we’re not good

And I think even the Bruins knew it were not good in that game on Thursday night uh in Boston when it was hyped as the you know potential Stanley Cup Final matchup all that stuff it just never materialized because Vancouver really didn’t show up uh like they should have

Um so this is the time of year when that happens I think every team has inconsistency and looks good and bad at this time of year um so I I I’m not going I I judge more on them getting pushed around against Calgary a game

Like that as why I think they might have problems in the playoffs and why they may not be an elite team and they may have some weaknesses that are really going to kill them uh come playoff time and be their you know their their their mortal weakness uh come playoff time

Their Kryptonite so to speak um one goalie injury away from disaster no I don’t think so I mean I they have two great goalies so but but um if Jeremy swan were to get hurt I think that would be a serious issue if it was all on U lenus elmar’s shoulders

Come playoff time given what we’ve seen of him in the playoffs given the questions he asked to answer in the playoffs given that he seemed last year to have trouble with the burden mentally and physically of all the pressure on him uh day in and day out come playoff

Time and playing every other day I think all of that was um something that the Bruins saw and kind of learned with him so uh I do think it would pose problems for them in in the playoffs but um I think uh to one say they one goalie inj

Injury away from disaster it’s not going to be disastrous if lenus alar is the goalie I think it will end up being um a shorter playoff run potentially um but I I you know and I I’m one of those people that wants to see Jeremy Swan uh start

Game one of the playoffs wants to see him get a run wants to see what he can do um so I I you know you you don’t want that to happen and you you kind of obviously you know thing I think a lot of people would get nervous on Causeway

Street if if Swan did get injured prior to the playoffs but uh to say that their one goalie injur away from disaster or like turning into a you know a basement dwelling team or going on a long it’s not true like Leena Mark won the vant

Trophy last year um disaster is uh in too strong a word would they become a team that’s another first round playoff exit if they had a goalie injury with swim yeah potentially maybe um but I I you know I’ve L held the belief that this Bruins

Team has some weaknesses is a very good team but still is a team in transition still is a team that is uh going from the old guard that retired last year in the last few years there danara David Cree Patrice berson that era to the new era Charlie McAvoy um David pastr Brad

Martian being the C Captain you know Charlie Coyle Brandon Carlo the goalies all Mark Swan you all those guys um hampus linol uh I I think that’s what we’re seeing now is the transition to that in you know new group with younger players sort of introducing them to the

Expectations and sort of pivoting and rebuilding on the Fly reloading and I I just think this is a transition year and I don’t see them as a Stanley Cup winner unless you know Swan really really gets hot if Swan turns into like this Dynamic gamechanging force and he plays the way

He is now in the playoffs you know and he really gets hot maybe that changes the perspective a little bit um and you know obviously uh Anything could happen once you get past the first round if you have a h goalie like all that comes into

Play and the East is wide open like all that stuff but if I like really pull back and I evaluate this Bruins team and I look at what’s going on I just think that um they may win around round or two this is not a Stanley Cup caliber team

Uh unless they’ve really added the deadline which I don’t think they’re going to be able to do and this is going to be more about getting some of the young younger players playoff experience sort of like completing the transition of going from one sort of like era to

The other and it’s kind of a bringier to competing for another you know five to 10 years with the group that they have and that may be the way we look at at the end of the day I I think maybe expectations have changed a little bit

Obviously with the way the Bruins have played and what they’ve done um but I’m not going to Heap all that uh kind of pressure on them to say like disaster is coming or they’re an elite team like I I still temper my expectations I’m not

Sure this is an elite team I I don’t think they’re gonna their one player injury away from disaster unless that injury is Charlie McAvoy that that could be disastrous if he got hurt um but I don’t think the goalie one goalie injury would would all of a sudden it become

Disaster two goalie injuries yeah maybe um but I think you could say that about any team in the NHL so um Albert thank you very much for the question on Twitter as always thank you very much uh for the Twitter questions in the X with hags mail bag uh let’s thank our

Sponsors again one more time FanDuel sports book Super Bowl Sunday uh if you’re celebrating with FanDuel uh sit down on your couch get some nachos watch the game Chiefs 49 is going to be really uh entertaining then get into uh FanDuel with so many ways for you to end the

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Pucks with hags podcast mailbag Edition thanks everybody for sending the questions we’ll be back with guests uh next week thanks for listening we’ll see you at the Rink

Joe Haggerty returns for a solo mailbag episode of “Pucks with Haggs”, following the Bruins’ 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals, coming off a commanding 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night in a clash between the NHL’s leading teams. He addresses the question of inconsistency: What leads to such fluctuating performances? Is there an underlying issue with the team?

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