The Boston Bruins have lost three straight games for the first time since Christmas. In late December, Boston lost six straight games, four of which came on home ice. They went 0-4-2 overall before rattling off a 12-2-3 stretch heading into the Olympics, solidifying their position.
The only other time Boston lost three or more in a row was in October, when they dropped six straight in regulation. They immediately followed that up with an eight-game win streak, again quickly solving that dilemma.
After a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 24, it felt like Boston might have found itself at serious risk for trouble.
Their next four looked brutal, with trips to Buffalo and Columbus, along with home games against Dallas and Minnesota.
Boston won all four games, scoring 19 goals in the four games, headlined by Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson.
With everyone else in the playoff race stumbling, Boston became a lock to clinching a berth in the playoffs, something still true today.
But this road trip began. Boston's lost to the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers, scoring just one goal in each game.
They at least took a point from Philadelphia, strongly helping their playoff odds remain at 99%.
Bruins' Head Coach Marco Sturm lambasted their attitude against the Panthers, saying they didn't respect their opponent early, leading to the 2-0 deficit that they couldn't overcome.
Then, Tampa Bay just beat them in a playoff-style game, with a late goal allowed by Jeremy Swayman making the difference.
Sunday in Philly, the Flyers may have just wanted it a little bit more. Boston took bad penalties, including both David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy taking consecutive penalties in overtime. That gave Philly nearly two full minutes of 5-on-3 play.
Porter Martone chipped in a rebound for his first NHL goal, and the Flyers won.
The next three won't be any easier for Boston.
They're in Raleigh on Tuesday night to take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who will be playing to try and clinch the Metropolitan Division.
Boston then gets three days off before hosting the Lightning, with the Bolts looking to fight off the Buffalo Sabres for the Atlantic Division crown.
24 hours later, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be playing for their playoff lives, hosting Boston for the second time in three weeks.
The season ends with the New Jersey Devils, who are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, and shut out the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
So, with a tough slate on tap, what's it going to take for the Bruins to snap out of this funk?
They've got a few options (No, they're not going to follow the New York Islanders' road map and fire their coach. Duh.).
First and foremost, they need to score more goals.
Pastrnak's gone six-straight games without a goal.
Morgan Geekie has gone 17 straight games without a goal.
Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov have combined for six goals and six assists in the 21 games since the Olympic Break ended.
They've played with Pastrnak for the majority of that time since then.
Yes, the second line has been unbelievable.
But the Bruins need a lot more from their first and third lines, particularly the skill guys.
One way Sturm can try and shake things up is reuniting Geekie and Pastrnak. The duo works incredibly well together, and the separation has only hurt the overall production from the team.
At the center spot, throwing Elias Lindholm back between makes sense, too.
Then, you could have a third line of Lukas Reichel with Minten and Khusnutdinov, an absolute nightmare for the opposition with speed, skill, and good two-way play.
There's another option, maybe the nuclear option.
The Bruins could sign James Hagens to his ELC and call him up to the NHL squad.
Boston just watched first-hand what a 2025 first-rounder can do for a team.
If they struggle against the Hurricanes on Tuesday, it makes all the sense in the world to give Hagens the last three games of the season.
They'd have to completely lose out while three teams beneath them would all need to win out to bump Boston from the playoffs.
Why not give Hagens a test run playing with Pastrnak ahead of the playoffs? Or, see how he fits alongside Geekie and Lindholm.
Boston's going to make the playoffs, yes. The question's becoming what will the team look like ahead of Game 1.
Hagens could be the spark this team needs if they continue to lose.