Boston Bruins Need to get on the Same Level as the Celtics

Over the last few years, the Bruins have been frustrating to watch. But this year…this year I think is the most frustrated I’ve been with them.

I was at the game Saturday night with my fellow Couch Guy Sports writer and friend, Adam Belue and we witnessed a game where the only player who showed up was David Pastrnak, who scored the only two goals for the team.

Then on Monday, the Bruins decided to click on all cylinders when they beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1- and Pastrnak didn’t score. Rather it was Jake DeBrusk, Torey Krug, Sean Kuraly and Frank Vatrano.

It was a full team effort to get the win – something we haven’t seen from the Bruins on a consistent basis this season. In fact, there really hasn’t been much consistency at all from the B’s this season.

It’s a team without David Krejci, David Backes, Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, Noel Acciari and Adam McQuaid. They go from looking solid to looking sloppy in the matter of a game and they don’t seem to have any sense of urgency.

What’s even more frustrating about this team, and I swear I say how frustrating this team is every week, is the fact they have yet to win two games in a row in regulation. Meanwhile, the Celtics are riding a beautiful nine-game winning streak after starting the season 0-2.

I’m not here to compare the teams because it would be like comparing apples to oranges. But take this into consideration:

The Celtics are a team with a lot of new people between Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – and their chemistry is amazing. These are people who are new to the team and new to each other and they are connecting on all levels.

They’re doing all of this without Gordon Hayward – so just imagine the damage that will be done when all of these names are on the court together.

Then there’s the Bruins who have players like Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. But that’s really it. There’s no “big name” player like a Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin. There’s no chemistry like Tatum and Brown.

There’s no real excitement surrounding the Bruins team this season.

The Bruins are just a mediocre team in a city where they are expected to be better than what they have been. Maybe the Celtics streak will abruptly end and they’ll turn into a mediocre team. Maybe the Bruins will turn the season around and get on the same page.

Maybe they won’t.

What the Bruins need is a shakeup. It started last year when Bruce Cassidy was named interim head coach after the firing of Claude Julien – but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

There needs to be a trade or a big signing – and not a Peter Chiarelli-type signing or trade. I mean they need to trade for a number one goalie or someone who can help them on defense.

They need a Danny Ainge-trading-Isaiah Thomas type of trade. Maybe the Bruins need Ainge to just run their team because he clearly knows what he’s doing while the B’s front office just sits there twiddling their thumbs.

Season after season since 2013 when the Bruins returned to the Stanley Cup finals, I find myself disappointed not so much about how the seasons have ended, but more so because there hasn’t been anything drastically done to change what is happening each season.

It was a good step in the right direction when the team named Cassidy the new head coach – but now it’s time to rebuild with the young talent this team does have in Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy and build around them.

Get the fans excited about this team again. Get them feeling how Celtics fans did when IT was traded and get them feeling how they felt when Hayward was signed.

Get the basketball fans more excited for hockey like the Celtics did this year to hockey fans. Or at least that’s what they did for me. I’ve watched more C’s games this year than Bruins games for the first time in my 28 years of life.

I want to see the Bruins win another Stanley Cup before I’m 30. But I have a better chance of seeing the Celtics raising banner number 18 because they’re not afraid to make big moves that will better benefit the team going forward.

Written by: Lauren Campbell (@lalalalaurrrren)