Where Do The Bruins Go From Here?
The Boston Bruins magical playoff run ended abruptly this past Sunday, losing to the Lightning 3-1 in game 5 and ultimately losing the series 4-1. It’s a heartbreaking loss because the Lightning were a beatable team. The Bruins thrashed them in game 1 6-2, and then in games 2, 4 and 5 if you take away the empty net goal it’s only a one goal game. The Bruins kept it close, but sloppy defensive play and the inability to get the puck in the net killed them.
The Bruins young players hurt them a lot against the Lightning. Don’t get me wrong I love these rugrats to death but some of that inexperience showed in this playoff series and really killed them. In Game 3 Grzelcyk got exposed right in the beginning, not knowing where the puck was and letting the Lightning swoop in and score quickly on an easy 2 on 1. They ended up scoring another goal within a few minutes and had a commanding 2-0 lead within the first 3 minutes of the game. The Bruins never recovered from that deficit. In Game 4 in OT Donato couldn’t clear the puck deep and allowed the Lightning defenseman to keep the puck in at the blue line, seconds later the puck was in the back of the Bruins net.
The Bruins young players are the reason they got this far in the first place, I cannot deny that fact. The Bruins were predicted to be fighting and clawing to sneak into the playoffs in a wild card spot, no one expected them to be fighting and clawing for the number 1 seed in the East. The young players stepped up this year, Pasta kept scoring and helped establish the most dominate first line the NHL, McAvoy played big minutes and learned a lot from Chara as he played in his first full NHL season, Grzelcyk stepped up, Donato got his shot, all of these guys played well and got some good playoff experience under their belt.I almost forgot to mention the game 7 hero Jake Debrusk, he absolutely killed it. The Bruins season may be over but the Bruins injection of youth into the lineup this season has opened the window for them for many years to come.
-John O’Connell
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