2022-2023 Boston Bruins Season

[tenn_smoothie]

First time all season the Bs lost three in a row. Great timing.

They lost 7 games at home all season

They lost 3 in this series alone.

It’s weird how TD Garden isn’t a home ice advantage for them. 1-3 this series at home and feels like they’ve had a ton of heartbreaking, season-ending losses at home. They play better on the road

I might have to be done with this team. Honestly. I know I'm talking out of emotion right now, but I feel embarrassed to be a Bruins fan.

This seems like a silly overreaction?  Its disappointing, but ho key is random.  The best regular season team almost always falls short.

Not like this. 1st round vs a Wild Card. Up 3-1 and cruising. Lose game 5 on a fluke in OT. Up twice in the 3d period game 6 and lose.
Then, the unkindest cut of all, they finally have the series in their hands at home with 1 minute left and ....................

[Roy H.]

Strangely, of the teams with the best regular seasons in NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB history, none won a title.

72’ Dolphins?

16 - 0 > 14 - 0

[tenn_smoothie]

Though I have been a Bruins fan a long time, I am not that knowledgeable about hockey aside from the obvious.

So, along with the sloppy puck handles, what did they not do in this series that they were doing so well in the regular season ?

[Goldstar88]

Strangely, of the teams with the best regular seasons in NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB history, none won a title.

72’ Dolphins?

16 - 0 > 14 - 0

You’re going to discount them going undefeated and then winning a championship from a historical standpoint just because they played less games back then. 

[celticsclay]

Strangely, of the teams with the best regular seasons in NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB history, none won a title.

72’ Dolphins?

16 - 0 > 14 - 0

You’re going to discount them going undefeated and then winning a championship from a historical standpoint just because they played less games back then. 

Yeah this doesn’t make any sense

[kraidstar]

First time all season the Bs lost three in a row. Great timing.

They lost 7 games at home all season

They lost 3 in this series alone.

It’s weird how TD Garden isn’t a home ice advantage for them. 1-3 this series at home and feels like they’ve had a ton of heartbreaking, season-ending losses at home. They play better on the road

They've been a bad home team for as long as i can remember. The exception beibg the Finals against Vancouver. Too bad we can't replicate the energy from that series. We are basically that Canucks team.

Fast.

Crafty.

Soft.

[JSD]

Regular season NHL hockey is going to take a massive hit here, because clearly it means nothing.

[kraidstar]

In general the Bruins were awful in their own end. The goalie and defensemen are the easiest targets for criticism. McAvoy looked like ge was playing for Florida half the time, and Ullmark was a sieve.

With that being said, our forwards and centers are equally to blame. The downside to having a bunch of all-star lines is that these guys get used to skating downhill and racking up oodles of goals.

They forget what it's like to be challenged, to get jammed by the forecheck and stonewalled at the blue line. These guys weren't used to adversity and physical play, and they couldn't practice fundamentals under pressure.

They're not dirt dogs who love to grind and scrap. For all his pretty plays,  Pastranak is a detriment to the team on 50% of the playing surface. Bergeron disappears, and has led this team to far too many disappointing results. Same with Marchand. Where is the defensive fire when we need it? Hall is either a highlight reel or a lowlight reel. Just too many guys who disappear when things get tight.

We need scrappers. We need 2-way players that are worth rooting for. We need an owner who will hire personnel who understand winning titles.

[kraidstar]

Regular season NHL hockey is going to take a massive hit here, because clearly it means nothing.

It's a joke. There is literally no reason to play hard.

[SparzWizard]

This is the time where we can all get together and...disagree with what Giannis said about "there is no failure in sports".

This was a colossal of a failure, for the Bruins.

[SparzWizard]

Well, at least the Bruins weren't the only ones getting "upset" on the same day.

Kraken won Game 7 over the Avalanche.

[tenn_smoothie]

In general the Bruins were awful in their own end. The goalie and defensemen are the easiest targets for criticism. McAvoy looked like ge was playing for Florida half the time, and Ullmark was a sieve.

With that being said, our forwards and centers are equally to blame. The downside to having a bunch of all-star lines is that these guys get used to skating downhill and racking up oodles of goals.

They forget what it's like to be challenged, to get jammed by the forecheck and stonewalled at the blue line. These guys weren't used to adversity and physical play, and they couldn't practice fundamentals under pressure.

They're not dirt dogs who love to grind and scrap. For all his pretty plays,  Pastranak is a detriment to the team on 50% of the playing surface. Bergeron disappears, and has led this team to far too many disappointing results. Same with Marchand. Where is the defensive fire when we need it? Hall is either a highlight reel or a lowlight reel. Just too many guys who disappear when things get tight.

We need scrappers. We need 2-way players that are worth rooting for. We need an owner who will hire personnel who understand winning titles.

Thank You for the analysis.

So are you saying that the Bruins were essentially a paper tiger ?
Or did the regular season become a victory parade on cruise control due to their talent and when they had to put their game on the line under pressure again then, 1) they weren't used to having to work hard and fight for games and 2) they played nervous the entire series trying to match all the expectations ? Never saw a good team give the puck away like they did this series..

Then again, how do we explain the meltdown after taking games 3 & 4 on the road ?
The coaches didn't stay with the guys who won those two games and tried to force injured players back too soon ?

[cman88]

Well remember guys. There are no failures in sports! Just steps!

Winning 65 games and losing in the first round is just a step! That's what Gianni's would say and media praised him for it.

[Phantom255x]

[Vermont Green]

I am going to take this in another direction, and not just to be contrarian or devil's advocate.  Florida was the better team in this series.  Last season, FL had the best record, 58 wins/122 pts, but lost (swept) in the second round by TB.  They had a really bad start but were a good team down the stretch.  I don't know what specific injuries they had earlier in the season but this team that played the the Bruins in this series was much more like a 58 win team than a 8 seed.  They brought forward pressure and the Bruins could not handle it.  What I saw was a team that played better against the Bruins than any other team all season.  Don't be fooled by the 8 seed, that is a good team.

There were 3 very important players (in addition to the obvious goalie issue) that did not play some games and/or when they did play, they were not playing at the level you would expect, Bergeron, Krejci, and McAvoy.  Bergeron and Krejci were hurt enough to miss games and they were not 100% when they came back.  They are old but were still top players all season, centering the top 2 lines.  They were not playing well.  Essentially losing your top 2 centers is a huge loss.  And McAvoy, is a top defenseman in the league and he played well below what you expect.  I am not sure what the issue with him was.  It would not surprise me if some injury is revealed.

As to next season and beyond, I suspect that both Krejci and Bergeron are going to retire.  That is two huge holes to fill.  But we did win a couple of playoff games against a really good team without them.  We have to see who we are able to keep but Pastrnak, Hall, Bertuzzi, DeBrusk, and of course Marchand are all good players.  If we can keep Orlov, our defense is actually going to be really good.  And we have 2 really good goalies.  I doubt we have the best record in the league again, but this team is not going to drop off a cliff.