It’s in the nature of every hockey fan to hope that their team will be successful, and while it’s obvious the Bruins aren’t Stanely Cup contenders, you shouldn’t have a great feeling the Bruins will able to make it past the regular season this year.
The first reason is goaltending. Tuukka Rask is a talented goalie, but since Anton Khudobin and AHL goalies Malcolm Subban and Zane MacIntyre weren’t as strong last season as hoped, he was overworked and overhyped by the Bruins. Also, considering the Bruins haven’t made any drastic goaltending changes this offseason there shouldn’t be too much hope the same issue won’t arise this season.
Secondly, we have the fact that the Bruins can’t seem to finish a game in 60 minutes. This was showcased in the rather disappointing (to put it nicely) playoff series against the Ottawa Senators where four out of six games went into overtime, including one going into double OT. Side Note – When the Bruins seem to be able to finish a game in 60 minutes, they end up losing with less than ten minutes in the 3rd.
Next up we have the dreaded injuries. Some may be more preventable with a little rest and rehabilitation than others, but it seems like the Bruins can’t catch a break on this front. Players last season who were on the DL list included Torey Krug, Noel Acciari, Brandon Carlo, Adam McQuaid, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron to name a few.
Lastly, we have the most overlooked factor in articles like these: other teams. At the end of the day, are the Bruins really good enough to compete in the Atlantic Division? Time will tell as the new season approaches, leaving Bruins fans to hope that something will click before the game has gotten ahead of the B’s.
