Sloppy Boston Bruins Need To Improve Defensive Effort To Thrive In Atlantic Division

The Boston Bruins had a season-high number of turnovers in Saturday's loss to the Utah Hockey Club. And Adam Proteau says the Bruins' defensive efforts have to improve and soon.

The NHL has seen depth players rack up the points early, including a new Boston Bruins center.

The Boston Bruins have earned their reputation in recent years as a veteran team that does the little things right as they play a smart, defensively-sound game. But thus far in the season, the Bruins look anything but defensively sound.

Boston’s defense is currently the 16th-best in the league at an average of 3.33 goals-against per game. That’s down considerably from last season when the Bs had the fourth-least goals-against per game (2.70). And Saturday night in a 2-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club, the Bruins had a season-high 22 giveaways, their highest single-game total in that department since March of 2021.

That’s the type of sloppiness that can push a team down the standings – and while the Bruins are second-best in the Atlantic right now with a 3-2-1 record, their lack of discipline with the puck could be the thing that sinks their hopes for home-ice advantage in the playoffs, and perhaps, that sinks their playoff hopes altogether.

The Bruins had an average of 8.12 giveaways per game last season, and that number has risen dramatically (to an average of 15.25) to start the current season. By the end of this season, those giveaway totals will drop, but at the moment, it’s obvious Boston has stumbled off the path of protecting the puck and putting forth a solid defensive effort.

In Boston’s two regulation losses this season, the Bruins have allowed an average of five goals per game. If they intend on doing damage in the post-season this spring, those numbers are going to have to come down significantly. Cutting down on giveaways is an important step in that process, and while there’s going to be an acclimation process for Boston’s new players – including backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo and veteran defenseman Nikita Zadorov – Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has to get a better defensive performance out of the veterans who’ve been in Boston for some time now. The Bs sure look like a team that's missing star defensive forward Patrice Bergeron, but that can't be an excuse for the all-around loose approach they've put forth this year.

Boston doesn’t have to win every game by a 1-0 or 2-1 score, but they do have to be more responsible with the puck and give their opponents less puck possession time. If those areas don’t improve, the Bruins are going to face severe difficulties replicating their recent regular-season successes and fall into the middle of the pack in the Atlantic.

That’s a recipe for disaster, and it’s now on Montgomery and Bruins brass to reverse the trajectory we’ve seen from them this season.