What’s gone wrong with the Bruins? | Poke the Bear

What’s gone wrong with the Bruins? | Poke the Bear

Poke the bear is brought to you by FanDuel the exclusive wagering partner of the clnx media Network and welcome into poke the bear episode 204 presented by clns media and sponsored by our good friends over at FanDuel and Factor meals my name is Conor Ryan and once again we

Are uh we’re riding solo today for this episode and um I think when we talk about the Bruins and how they’ve played as of late they’re kind of similar to how I’m feeling right now which if you can’t tell from from the congestion probably the multiple coughs you’re

Going to hear on this podcast feeling pretty crappy and I think if you’re a Bruins fan and you’ve watched uh this team over this extended home stand probably uh say they’re playing kind of a similar way aren’t they right you look at just um I mean we’re recording this

Saturday night so um an upto-date podcast by the time this one drops um Bruins have now lost four straight games at home home which is uh kind of hard to believe they they’ve fallen into a rut like that um and five of six they had that one really good win against the

Vancouver Canucks kind of sandwiched in between there which made you feel like this team was going to kind of come out of this and uh out of this little rut they had but they have that win but in between that for game loon streak you had that awful loss to the Calgary

Flames um it it feels like it’s one of these game or one of these home stands where if you’re a Bruins fan and you’ve gone to one of them you feel bad for people whove like had to pay money for a couple of them you look at like that

Flames game that Seattle Kraken game on Thursday um just low event hockey nothing really going on not a whole lot to show for it and I think you look at this past game on Saturday against the Kings 54 overtime loss it’s even more frustrating right because uh I think Joe Montgomery said

It best um postgame he said quote that’s a game we should win uh the execution wasn’t where it should be give them credit they never stopped competing that’s what desperate teams do and it’s true the brues aren’t really playing like a desperate team right now where you’ve had multiple opportunities to

Really put that game away um and just couldn’t get get the job done you know it’s frustrating the fact that I think the Bruins their previous four losses had scored a whopping four goals they finally get four goals in a game and whether it’s just the saves not being

There the the penalties the special teams play um this team just couldn’t get out of its own way a lot of the times to um you know lift themselves to a victory which is uh very frustrating and I think when you look at uh especially in this game right like you

Have the power play which you know finally Cashes in a little bit earlier on in the game jvr has a really strong game which was really encouraging um but this is still a power play that has has been really out of whack the last couple of games extended drought that really you

Know put them in a spot where they couldn’t either extend leads claw back into games and then even in this game yes it’s great you get a few of the Power Play Goals early on but you get a power play opportunity in overtime feels like a gift WP two points

Right there right um and Bruins aren’t able to convert you know aren’t aware of the fact that Brent Clark’s uh coming out of the box there uh you know bad pass you know uh POS has the shot feeds back all a sudden Clark has a breakaway

Great set of moves by him to beat all Mark but still that’s just a sequence that can’t happen uh especially for a team that is so you think would be tuned into you know sticking to the stronger details of the game and putting games away um that just really can’t happen

Out there for the Bruins uh in that situation so even with the positives in this game like the power play still not enough to get two points out of it the PK uh again which has probably been one of the most surprising things that you know I think since really like the

Holiday break the PK has taking a huge step back this is a group that for years now has been a really really you know Foundation a strong Foundation of this team as to why they’re so successful it’s really strong PK work and it’s really just eroded since the holidays um

Last six games they’re operating at 68.8% um and then even look at this game right you have the ozone infraction from zaka leads to a critical PK late in the game where again even if this team’s been struggling in short-handed situations that is a play that you have to you know

That that is a sequence you have to capitalize on you have to kill the play and it just didn’t happen for the Bruins in that situation right um you know they they’re able to get the the game time goal go to overtime and it just you know once again compounds the

Issues with this team as of late where um you know you can look at some of the positives right you look at the third line had a really strong game um you could point to the fact that pck had a goal wiped off off of a goalie

Interference call which I feel like we could probably talk for about 20 minutes on that as to where exactly that best uh you know where that ruling is there I didn’t really see the need to take that goal off the board but again you you spin the wheel right when it comes to

Video reviews and stuff like that um but I I just think when you look at this team also Anthony marar gets a goal um you know good play by him uh good play by that fourth line but regardless of whatever positives you want to put towards a game and there are some of

These games where I think you’ll you’ll take a uh a strong effort like the Tampa Bay game back and forth you come away with a point there you know you you’d like more obviously but just wasn’t the case um but I I think you see how that game kind

Of played out and you you view that as like kind of building your game forward that’s what Montgomery mentioned after that game against Tampa Bay where it’s like all right we were pretty much run out of the building in that Calgary game um you know we we l we we beat Vancouver

Lose to a a Tampa team that’s playing really well you’ll take that to then kind of have a a no-show against a team like the Seattle Kraken who another snoozer of a game and then game like the Kings where again you you have some positives but it’s not winning hockey

When you can’t capitalize in those situations you know when you’re not aware of when time’s expiring on your power play in overtime where it should be a layup of a opportunity there for you to get two points when you’re not killing penalties late in the game when you know the team’s pushing

Um all those situations there I think just make for a really really rough product out there um and it’s again some of it has been bad luck I think you look at like that Kraken game where uh uh it felt like the Bruins had three or four

Quality chances that either you know hit off a crossbar or um or Puck sat like right on the goal line what have you and again that happens over the span of a long season but it’s still a situation right where um the way this team is playing right

Now it’s not good enough for a whole 60 Minute game to consistently win and that’s that’s the whole thing this team as constituted has the talent has the goal tending to you know fall into quite a few two-point victories right you can rely on a guy like David Pasto you can

Rely on a guy like prde Martian you can rely on San orar getting hard at the right time that’s great and all but when you’re straying so far from your details and so many critical areas of the game and so many other players aren’t pulling on the

Rope then you you do get into this situation where um you’re staring at a very real possibility where you’re playing a pretty good Dallas stus team on Monday where um you could end this you know seven game home stand with one regulation win which I think would you

Know I think if you’re a Bruins fan you’d be shocked by that considering how well they’ really had played since the holiday break but uh that’s kind of the hand they’ve been dealt and a lot of it’s been self-inflicted in terms of just not executing in critical areas of

A game when uh you know the momentum can swing back and forth you know whether it’s not getting that kill whether it’s not capitalizing on that power play what have you the Bruins you know mostly have themselves to blame for kind of the situation they’re in so um we’ll dive

Into a little bit more of the a few of the positives we drew from that game but before we do that listen to our good friends over at FanDuel get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel America’s number one sports book because right now new customers can get 150 $ in bonus

Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks if your bet wins you can bet on all your favorite NBA players and teams with things like quick bets live same game Pet exclusive props and a whole lot more just visit fanduel.com Boston and shoot your shot FanDuel official Sportsbook partner of the

NBA once again shout out to our good friends over at FanDuel so I mean in terms of some of the positives I think the one thing you can point to it’s a third line you get two goals from them um you know jvr uh contributes or you got you know

Jvr gets two goals Frederick gets a goal in the third period um and I think on most situations when you get a third line where you generate two five on five goals most of the time that leads to a victory right um when you have that part

Of the lineup really pulling its weight and it’s it’s good to see a few of those guys get going you know Frederick had been a little bit quiet since the uh coming back from the All-Star break same with gei I think going into that game

Kiki only had I think one goal in his last seven games so really encouraging to get that part of the lineup going um because it shows you how much different this overall team can be when you have guys further down the lineup who driving play can answer the ball and you know

Answer the bell and can really step up when needed and even look at like Frederick skull which is right after uh the Kings uh the king’s tie it there in the third period perfect example of just the momentum swing of a game and and what you need to do to kind of

Reassert yourself and um I really do like that third line of how they play Frederick uh geeky and jvr um I do feel like they compliment each other pretty well and it’s one thing where I think the big question mark for that line going into the year in terms of maybe

Each of them individually is whether or not they were able to drive play amongst them themselves right like is jvr at this stage of his career better suited to be like a top six Guy where he’s with a guy like Pono or or someone like that

You know is geeky does he need to be with elevated linemates Frederick same thing and it seems like he put those guys together just good things tend to happen when they play kind of smart simplified hockey um you know they’re all three big bodies down there U Morgan

Ki I know he’s not really the the biggest guy but you know 6’2 um I think he’s second or third on the team in total hits you know which again is not the ultimate barometer but does play kind of a a more physical brand of hockey than maybe some Bruins fans

Expected so if I’m Jim Montgomery that’s the one line I really don’t touch at all uh moving forward is that third line now um you tell me like the fourth line I still think you have to figure out what exactly the identity of that group is

I’m not really going to bch them that much off of this game though when uh you know it was good work down low that led to Anthony Richard’s goal he kind of got an assist from the goalie there but but a good finish from him after his linan

Kind of fish out the puck along the end boards um but it’s also one of those things where you know we’ve mentioned this time and time again where if you’re the Bruins you’re you’re playing at your best when youve got a lot of other key contributors rolling in the lineup and

You know you look at you know a guy like poo and what he provides you know the usual suspects but like um as good as Frederick and and jvr and a few those guys were tonight like Jake de Brusque is still a guy that has zero points in

His last seven games when again we just see how much more dangerous this team can be when he’s really rolling out there as well so um yeah you’ll take you know the fact that third Line’s playing well you finally got a few Power Play Goals you

Can build off of that but doesn’t really feel all that great when you’re still you know you drop an OT loss to a team um and you’re now you know Losers of five of your last six games doesn’t doesn’t feel all that great when when at

The end of the day you’re trying to build your overall game trying to get back on track and this game on Saturday really didn’t feel like that at all so um we’ll dive into this a little bit more all right so the Bruins now close out their home stand on Monday against

The Dallas Stars we are officially you know less than a month away from the Nal trade deadline so what exactly should the Bruins do at this point and I think overall the game plan should be in the next you know two and a half weeks as you’re waiting and assessing your

Options at the deadline I don’t think this R the Bruins in ch is their overall approach to the deadline in terms of them going from soft buyers to soft sellers where all a sudden like it got like the bruss is going to get moved for a first round pick or anything like

That um but I do think you look at the way this team is set up in the next two weeks or so wouldn’t be surprised if they give a younger player like a Fabian Lelo look see if just that kind of player can give them a little bit of a Spock here um

Somewhere in the lineup a little bit more of of an offense of Pop maybe you call up lorai but I still feel like the biggest issue with the defense right now is snuffing out scoring chances and I feel like Loray isn’t necessarily the best fit there for what they really need

So I wouldn’t be surprised if they call up a guy like lysel and give him a little bit of a run here worst case it’s kind of like merkulov where it doesn’t have a lot of minutes doesn’t really impact the game but if he does well one

It raises trade value two it gives you a little bit of a spark and you have a guy that maybe you want to keep here long term and again worst case if he doesn’t make an impact you send him back down and that’s that so you know like s’s had

A really strong year had some early bumps where I think he’s continued to kind of learn how to play winning hockey uh in the NHL ranks um and that’s been something that he’s had to work on a little bit here but wouldn’t be surprised if if he gets a look um at

Some point in the next couple of uh you know days weeks just to give the Bruins a little bit of something here uh before the trade deadline so that’s something I definitely keep tabs on and then the deadline I mean I still feel like you know we’ve talked about this multiple

Times on the podcast with both you know Evan and Tai where we’ve said you know is it uh a middle six player is it a fourth line guy is it a defenseman I think the most pressing thing right now is you need another physical nasty defenseman out there um you know Derek

Forbert who again I think was really strong to start the year was on the ice for three goals against uh on Saturday against the Kings really rough game from him I just think you need more of a steing presence further down in that lineup right now and again

Maybe forber gets healthy and uh wres the ship but I think you need more Insurance back there so you know whether that’s a guy like IL lushin or Nick sealer or uh one of the many kind of third pairing physical defenseman who should be out there I think the Bruins

Have to be involved there in terms of picking out one of those players um so I I think that’s the most pressing need for the Bruins right now is help on D um especially just just feels like there’s too many you know weak chains in the in

Their overall armor right now on defense right there’s a few guys you can trust few guys that maybe are underperformed but you generally know what to expect out of them and you hope that they kind of write the ship but when you have guys like forward who are really struggling

Uh Glick struggling um there’s too many weak areas that lineup where you know we’re not even talking about playoffs right right yet but um even in this regular season over this kind of Gauntlet of an 82 Game season youve got way too many parts of the game where you’re

Like ah the Bruins have some soft spots here where a team could really kind of take advantage of them so I do think looking at the that defense has to be their number one priority and again I mentioned guys like leushin or CER but there’s so many different guys out there

That aren’t you know we’re not talking about the um you know the Noah hanifins and the Chris tanov you know maybe Jacob Middleton but that’s going to be a I think probably a pretty sizable ask for a guy who’s probably more of a top four

Guy a guy that a lot of players probably would a lot of teams would covet as kind of a physical defenseman 63 under contract for this year next like he’s probably going to cost quite a bit but you know maybe you weigh that risk reward um but if you’re the Bruins and

You’re able to get out of this deadline with a little bit more heft on the blue line and then I I do think you need some sort of galvanizing kind of fourth line kind of player like to put into this lineup just because I think you need more of an

Identity with that group um and it’s not to say that you need like a a guy who’s going to drop the gloves or anything like that but I I think what this team desperately needs is a tone setting player um guy that can you know answer the Bell when

Needed over a playoff run can drop the gloves but can deliver a hit and get guys going and so like even like a guy like Brennon dam for the Minnesota Wild who really fast skater hits pretty much everyone when he’s hops over the boards I think a guy like that that kind of

Fits in with like the new NHL in terms of speed floor checking that kind of aggressiveness over maybe a bigger guy but isn’t going to win a lot of foot races I think a guy like Brennan dam is a guy the Brun should definitely be looking at so again the Bruins are a

Rough little rut right now I don’t think it’s going to change their overall deadline plans or anything like that but uh I think it’s something need to change between now and March 8th so that’s all we have for this episode of poke the bear hopefully by next week I’ll be able

To have my actual voice and it w be coughing into my microphone every single time so hopefully this is a one-off so thank you for your patience uh grinding through this as I have but um again you can find all my stuff over at boston.com

Um you can follow me on Twitter at Conor r93 uh once again this is uh episode two 204 of poke the bear and you guys have a great rest of your Week

Conor Ryan of Boston.com rides solo for a new episode of Poke the Bear following the Boston Bruins 4 game losing streak. The Boston Bruins play the Dallas Stars after losing four in a row.

Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Because right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Just, visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and shoot your shot!

Bet on all your favorite NBA players and teams with:

● Quick Bets
● Live Same Game Parlays
● Exclusive Props
● And more!

FanDuel, Official Sportsbook Partner of the NBA.

DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Vermont. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.
———————————————————————————————————————————
Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins’ credentialed insiders Mike “Trags” Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe “Haggs” Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.

For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1