The Bruins consider themselves a family, and as we all know being a family means putting up with even some of the craziest decisions your relatives make over the course of a lifetime.
Of course, it's what you do to correct those mistakes that determine whether you're going to stick together as a group or become estranged. The Bruins' 4-3 overtime loss to Nashville on Saturday at TD Garden could be a turning point for this group's familial bond.
The Bruins are now 0-0-3 in their past three and 1-4-4 in their past nine games, and their last four losses have been by one goal. Only the cushion they built up for first place in the Atlantic Division is preventing this family problem from turning into a crisis.
The game started with one choice by coach Bruce Cassidy working out. He decided to insert Par Lindholm and Brett Ritchie into the lineup for fourth-line energy in place of Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes. At 7:30 of the second period, that move paid off when Ritchie landed a shot on net and Lindholm directed the rebound into the net, along with his body, for a 1-0 lead.
From there the decisions would've made any fan tear their hair out.
The Bruins and Predators were tied 2-2 in the third period when, with his defense partner Charlie McAvoy below the offensive goal line, Torey Krug made a high-risk play to shoot the middle of the zone. The shot was blocked and Nashville's Roman Josi raced for the deflected puck against David Pastrnak into the Boston end. To compound the error, goalie Jaroslav Halak ventured out beyond the circles and missed the puck. Josi shot into the open net.
In overtime, Cassidy decided David Krejci, his second-line center and fourth-leading scorer, wouldn't get off the bench. Yes, the Bruins treated their fans to an overtime shift of Pastrnak playing with Sean Kuraly instead of Krejci. Perhaps Krejci was injured or had a broken skate blade? No, Krejci's absence was because of a coach's decision.
"We went with six other guys," he said.
The Bruins were victims of a somewhat bad bounce later in the extra period, when Ryan Johansen's wide shot hit the referee below the goal line and went back to Johansen. But Brad Marchand's decision to assume the puck would go up the wall instead of checking a man in the defensive zone allowed Johansen to set up Ryan Ellis for the game-winning goal.
It's a good thing these guys love each other, or they might be at each other's throats, including the coach.
"I've said that before, you can't just enjoy when things are good and when things are bad just jump ship. That's too easy," said Bergeron, who scored two goals. "I've said that before, it's a long season and hopefully these things make you stronger and that's when you have to be behind each other and support each other and find ways. And I think I wouldn't want to do it with any different group. Like I've said before, I enjoy coming to the rink every day and putting in the work. That's the challenge we're facing, that's the urgency we have to find and I wouldn't change it, that's where we're at."
Cassidy described his players as "sick of losing." Maybe that illness is affecting their minds as well as their play. They have one day to get well and then try to salvage a win against the Washington Capitals – you know, the team that's 16-1-0 in their past 17 games against Boston – on Monday.
Maybe the family that gets sick together, also cures together.
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