Bruins Lay Stink Bomb As Panthers Roll To 5-0 Win

Yikes. That was tough to stomach.

Over the last few weeks, the Bruins have been struggling to produce goals since their best forward Patrice Bergeron was injured in Dallas. At least they were getting fantastic goaltending from the duo of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak to give them a chance. But last night in Sunrise they got nothing from their limp dick offense and a less-than-stellar effort from Halak, leading to an embarrassing 5-0 whitewashing to the divisional opponent Florida Panthers.

I’m not going to go too hard on Halak as 1) he’s arguably been the team’s most valuable player and, 2) the team in front of him did not score a single goal and gave up way too many chances. Had the Bs potted one in the first period, it’s like a totally different game. It was only his second real dud of the year (that Jonathan Huberdeau goal was ugly enough to push the start into the ‘dud’ category).

What’s more concerning is the play in front of the goalie. The Bruins were bad and despite 33 shots on goal, only a couple really challenged Roberto Luongo. Whatever adrenaline they were playing with in the wake of the injuries to Bergy and Zdeno Chara has faded. The best and obvious thing for the Bs to do is just forget about it and move on. But they’re going to still have the same line-up tomorrow in Tampa against the Cup-contending Lightning and putting the puck in the net is still going to be an issue. The game starts at 7:30PM.

A few more buds for your bowl…

*The Bs have scored just 14 goals in the eight games since Bergy was hurt for a paltry 1.75 goals per game. Yuck.

*I don’t think the team makes a move before Bergeron returns because he makes such a huge difference when he’s in the line-up not only with what he does but the ripple effect as well. Even when he does return, the Bs are still going to need consistent secondary scoring. A top-six addition to the line-up should help fix that issue.

*Noted Masshole and friend of the Spittin’ Chiclets program Keith Yandle continued his torrid start with two more assists last night. The power play savant has four goals and 21 assists in 26 games with about two-thirds of his points coming with the man advantage (3-14–17). Yandle is also the NHL’s current ironman, having played in 741 straight games which is the sixth longest streak in NHL history. The 32-year-old is in the third year of a 7-year/$44,450,000 deal, a nice bargain for the Panthers when comparing the defenseman to his peers. Though he’s not a Vesey, Hayes, Tkachuk, or Fitzgerald, Yandle is another NHLer with deep Charlestown family roots. He also honored late BPD Sergeant Dan Bausemer as part of the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative and it was a gesture that was very much appreciated by those close to Bausemer. “Bozzy” was a beloved figure in his native South Boston and in Dorchester where he lived and represented everything great about Boston.