By Olivia McCrillis
BANGOR, ME- Thirteen days ago one of New England’s most beloved hockey teams finished off their season with a devastating loss against The Ottawa Senators. Although it was not a shutout, the score being 6-1 in favor of the Senators, this was a very sad loss for the Bruins. But they went into this game with a very important man down, Tuukka Rask, the starting goalie for the Bruins was out for their final game due to illness.
This loss was extremely devastating for the Bruins as it was their last chance to make the playoffs. According to Rask he had been getting sick all through the night prior to the game and only came on the ice for warm-ups to give his back up time to travel to Boston for the game. Although the Bruins had been struggling, as they were hanging by a string to get into playoffs, many have wondered if the game would have gone differently with Rask in the net. There’s no doubt that they may have, but in the end, as you would hear most players say, it’s not all up to the goalie, they need to get past the defense in order to get to the goalie in the first place.
The Bruins overall record for the season was 42-31-9. The team leaders for the season were Bergeron, Marchand, and Krejci. Bergeron having scored a total of 68 points throughout the season, the highest amount of points on the team this season. Marchand scored the most goals on the team, at 37, and Krejci made 46 assists throughout the season. Many have wondered if the loss of starter Milan Lucic, played a role in the turnout of the Bruins season.
Although the past two seasons the Bruins have run short of the playoffs, they hope to implement a new strategy for the upcoming 2017 season. They have largely admired the Red Wings for their “Evolution over revolution,” strategy. This relates largely back to a topic that is very common in the hockey world, age. The Bruins and Red Wings both have seasoned players, but their players that have stayed with the team for a long time, and they hope to capitalize on the relationships that have been built throughout the years. It’s no surprise that they plan to implement a new powerful core for their playoff days which will involve players such as, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask.
The Bruins president himself touched on the fact that their losses over this past semester did not fall on any single person, but rather the team as a whole. This doesn’t just refer to the players, but also the coaching staff and the owners themselves. Something that has the fans continuously concerned is the fact that they’ve once again missed the playoffs, many are wondering if the Bruins will continue to fall, or if this next season will be the eyeopener they need. So as we say goodbye to this season, we welcome in anticipation of the changes that will be implemented for the coming season.
