Boston's Loss To Canes Reveals Two Big Things About The Bruins

The Boston Bruins lost a tough game against the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Tuesday night inside the Lenovo Center.

The game saw the Bruins get only 15 shots on goal, as the Hurricanes dominated the game for large stretches of the night. The worst of those came during the second period, where the Bruins had only two shots on goal during the second period.

At one point, the Bruins went 20:39 straight without a shot on goal.

Despite the lopsided scoring chance edge, at 5-on-5, it was not that bad.

Per Moneypuck.com, at 5v5, the expected goals edge was 2.8 to 1.22.

Obviously, that's quite far from ideal for the Bruins, but its nowhere near as bad as some have made it out to be.

Yes, the Hurricanes were better and controlled possession for large swaths, with Boston unable to break through for elongated stretches of play.

They lost by one goal.

Jeremy Swayman was outstanding in goal, giving Boston every chance to win. With him in net, they'll be in every game.

The Bruins are 9-3-1, and still sit atop the Atlantic Division.

One bad night in a still-close loss does not change any of that.

What it does show, however, is the Bruins still are missing that one extra piece.

Rumors continue to swirl that the Bruins' General Manager Don Sweeney is willing to be aggressive in the trade market to complement his current roster.

Dylan Larkin would be an obvious fit, but as of now, he remains unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to join the Bruins.

Defensively, while Frederic Brunet and Mason Lohrei have played well, a top-pairing level left-shot defenseman would elevate this team to a whole new level.

Simon Edvinsson, who is Larkin's teammate with Detroit, also makes a lot of sense for the Bruins.

The Bruins have plenty of assets they could cash in on, with three first-round picks in the next two drafts, with a boatload of prospects, including Dean Letourneau, who plays center and maybe, just maybe, may be excess with the breakouts of James Hagens and Fraser Minten.

There's also the Pavel Zacha angle of it all. Zacha scored Boston's lone goal in Tuesday's defeat.

But, Zacha is a free agent at the end of the year, and all reporting indicates the Bruins and Zacha are not close on an extension.

Could Zacha be used as a big piece of a potential Larkin trade, or for another big offensive piece?

If it makes sense, it might be the best asset management possible for the Bruins.

The loss to Carolina is tough, one that the Bruins can't be thrilled with.

But, they're closer than most think.