BOSTON — January. To some, it’s the worst of the 12 months.
Post-holiday blues. Season depression. A bitterly cold existence for at least the next two months.
If the Boston Bruins aren’t careful, they’ll find out that the first month could be the one that sinks their 2024-25 campaign.
Four straight games against teams currently in playoff position — and a fifth, Ottawa, just on the outside looking in — started off with a dud Tuesday night. The Bruins looked flat, gave up 39 shots on goal and were out of sync all evening in a 4-0 defeat to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
It pushed Boston’s winless streak to five straight games and makes them 1-5-1 since returning from the holiday break.
“They wanted it more; that’s pretty simple,” winger Charlie Coyle stated. “There was kind of a lack of urgency … a lot of things that are embarrassing to say. They just wanted it more.”
“There’s a lot of disappointment. Embarrassed, frustration … a lot of things,” center Elias Lindholm added.
The road ahead gets no easier. They’re in Tampa Bay Thursday, at the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Saturday, then return home to TD Garden to face the Lightning next Tuesday. The only two dogs on the Bruins’ 11-game slate this month who won’t be sniffing at the playoffs are San Jose at home on January 20 and a road date in Buffalo eight days later.
So for a team whose power play runs about as reliably as a 1975 Chevy Vega, who sit both 25th in goals for and goals allowed in the 32-team NHL, and who have trailed in games for 230 minutes more than they’ve had the league, yeah, you could surmise that January is a pretty critical month for Boston.
Where they stand 31 days into 2025 will likely determine if there’s a playoff spot awaiting this group.
On this night, the Oilers basically lured their hosts into playing the freewheeling brand of hockey that the defending Western Conference titlists love to play. As a result, goalie Jeremy Swayman faced a constant barrage of shots, many of them clean and without much resistance from his defenders.
“We pretty got what we deserved tonight,” interim head coach Joe Sacco admitted.
“I don’t think we played our style of hockey the way this team is built,” added Trent Frederic, who goaded Corey Perry into a second period fight (beating him badly), but was assessed a 2-minute roughing penalty in addition to the 5-minute and had to watch as McDavid scored on a breakaway.
“It’s hard to get into a run-and-gun with a like that; that’s the game they want to play, and we played right into their hands.”
Shortly after Viktor Arvidsson scored an empty netter for Edmonton with three-and-a-half minutes to go, a clearly frustrated 639th consecutive Garden sellout started chanting ‘Fire Sweeney! Fire Sweeney!’ Having already canned head coach Jim Montgomery two months ago, the team’s general manager and former Boston blueliner, Don Sweeney, is next in the pecking order.
The Bruins could desperately use Hampus Lindholm back on the blue line. Out since mid-November after blocking a shot with his knee against St. Louis, he was skating here on the Garden ice Tuesday by himself, but still has no timetable for returning. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound rearguard, who’ll turn 30 on Jan. 20, was Boston’s best defenseman before his injury and could really help a stagnant man advantage with his puck-moving ability and on-ice vision.
But it’s more than that. The Bruins need Swayman (and, to a lesser extent, Joonas Korpisalo) to start playing like an elite puckstopper on a consistent basis. They need David Pastrnak (4 goals in his last 4 games, 7 in his last 12) to go on an extended heater. They desperately need some help offensively; the team’s third-leading scorer — in this case, Pavel Zacha — should have more than 21 points halfway through the season.
Like a patient who tells his physician he has a sore throat, runny nose, headache, and general aches and pains this time of year, there’s a lot that currently ails the Boston Bruins. Whether or not they can get through January healthier, both in terms of on-ice performance and in the Eastern Conference standings, remains to be seen.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN