The month of December has not been too kind to the Boston Bruins. They have just three regulation wins and they crawled to the three-day Holiday break by losing four in a row for the first time in three years. There have been multiple reasons for the Black and Gold’s struggles, but despite those struggles, they come out of their break four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers on top in the Atlantic Division.
As the Bruins return to the ice on Wednesday night (Dec. 27) in Western New York against the division-rival Buffalo Sabres looking to snap their skid, it’s time for the latest Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus One: Matthew Poitras Playing In the 2024 WJC
On Dec. 18, Bruins general manager (GM) Don Sweeney announced that 19-year-old center Matthew Poitras was going to play in the 2024 World Junior Championship for Team Canada. This season for Boston, he has five goals and eight assists in 27 games and settling in and around the top nine for head coach Jim Montgomery. He has been benched a few times by the Bruins’ second-year head coach, but he is getting a good opportunity to gain some confidence at the WJC and represent his country.
“Obviously you never want to leave the NHL, but I’m excited to get over there and play for my country. I mean, I’d never complain about that, it’s a dream come true,” said Poitras. Every year around Christmas time, it’s the best part of the year because it’s Boxing Day and you get to turn on the World Juniors. I’ve been watching Canada play every single year since…I don’t know how long. It’s a good opportunity and I’m very excited.
“This was kind of a last chance…you can’t go back and play next year, so I think we both think it’s a good opportunity to go over there and play and have fun.”
This is a good chance for Poitras to “reset” and come back with a ton of confidence after the New Year and return to the Bruins lineup ready for the second half of the NHL season. He scored a goal in Team Canada’s 5-2 victory Tuesday (Dec. 26) over Finland.
Minus One: Bruins Four-Game Losing Streak
Entering the break, the Bruins lost four in a row, but it wasn’t necessarily that they lost the four, but how they lost them. Against the New York Rangers (Dec. 16) and the Minnesota Wild (Dec. 19), Boston entered the third period with one-goal leads and failed to hold onto them.
Related: 3 Bruins Underperforming So Far in 2023-24
The Rangers tied the game on a Vincent Trocheck power-play goal, then he won the game in overtime for a 2-1 win. Against the Wild, the Black and Gold took a 2-1 lead into the third period, only to surrender a pair of goals, tie it late on a Brad Marchand power-play goal, then lose in overtime, 4-3.
A two-game trip against the Winnipeg Jets and Wild yielded two frustrating performances. They lost 5-1 to a good Winnipeg team, then one night later lost 3-2 to Minnesota. After bouncing back with a strong first period against the Wild, the final 40 minutes were a repeat of the Jets’ game where they were outplayed, outworked, turned the puck over, and failed to create many high-danger chances.
Plus Two: David Pastrnak
Scoring goals has been an issue for the Bruins over the last couple of weeks, but if there’s been one player who has been consistent, it’s David Pastrnak. In two games against the Wild, he scored three goals, two on Dec. 19, then one on Dec. 23. In the 5-4 shootout win over the New York Islanders, he scored the game-winner on Dec. 15 on the final shot.
Without Pastrnak, the Bruins’ numbers offensively lately would be worse than what they are, but he can’t do it all by himself. Montgomery should put Pavel Zacha, Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand together, especially with Poitras in Sweden for the next couple of weeks, and see if they can find some offense together.
Minus Two: Jake DeBrusk
If there is one player that is really having a tough time in 2023-24, it’s Jake DeBrusk and he’s doing it in a contract year. One season after scoring 27 goals, he has just four with seven assists in 31 games this season. There could be many factors as to why he’s struggling, but with Boston struggling to score goals, they really need him to step up.
He has remained in the top six despite his struggles and there are nights when he plays, he’s pretty hard to find out there. Boston needs him to start producing more and he needs to start producing more if he’s going to get a raise from his $4 million average annual value (AAV) he’s getting this season.
Plus Three: Three-Day Holiday Break
If there was a team in the NHL that needed the three-day mandated break, it was the Bruins. The month of December has been one with several ups and downs, but three days away from the rink with their families is what they need to clear their heads and hit the reset button. It’s going to be interesting to see how they come back after the break against the Sabres, then a home game against the New Jersey Devils (Dec. 30) and a road game against the Detroit Red Wings (Dec. 31) before the New Year.
Minus Three: Blow Third Period Leads
Over the last couple of weeks, what was a strong point for Boston the last couple of seasons, finishing out games with a third-period lead, has been a major issue. Losses to the Devils, Rangers, and Wild, just in the last two weeks, have cost them four points in the standings, and sooner or later, those lost points are going to catch up with them. Finishing games strong over the final 20 minutes is a must going forward if they are going to remain on top in the Atlantic Division.
After the holiday break, the Bruins face a trip to Western New York to play the Sabres looking to break a four-game losing streak. It’s going to be interesting to see how they handle the three-day break away from the arena against a team that beat them in regulation on their home ice earlier in December.
