Defense is Optional. BRUINS LOSE.

(Note: This recap isn’t going to be very good. I fell asleep shortly after the game. It’s been a VERY long work week. Yup, tossing out excuses today)

That was ugly. I’m talking Carrot Top ugly.

We get a lot of shit at DOY for not drinking the black and gold Koolaid. But things aren’t always sunshine and rainbows with a team. And right now the Bruins defense is atrocious. Bunch of fools were pointing to the B’s five game winning streak as evidence that the Bruins don’t need Chara. A lot of you are in denial. But let’s take a look at some facts here.

During their five game winning streak, the Bruins beat Buffalo, Ottawa, Florida, Edmonton and New Jersey.

Here’s how each team ranks in Goals For: Buffalo is 30th, Ottawa is 17th, Florida is 29th, Edmonton is 20th and New Jersey is 15th. Three out of five of these teams are in the bottom third of the NHL, with Buffalo and  Florida being the two worst offenses in the entire league.

Then the Bruins faced off against Toronto. Toronto has the third best offense in the league. And look what happened. Bruins lose 6-1.

Seidenberg clearly isn’t 100%. He can’t seem to get back into coverage quick enough. Hamilton is going to be a beast but his defensive game still needs work. Krug is a powerplay wizard but not exactly a defensive stalwart. We could go on. The point is the B’s current defensemen have played timid against good offensive teams. Last night against Toronto they backed off way too much, giving Toronto shooters way too much room to shoot.

Regardless of how you feel about Kessel, there’s no denying he’s one of the best snipers in the league. His wrist shot is ridiculous. You could visibly see him drooling when he came into the Bruins offensive zone because of all the room he had to shoot. Tuukka perfectly summed up the team’s performance:

And it’s not just the defensemen. Team defense has been awful. Bergeron is struggling, which is something we thought was impossible. Krejci is injured so lines have been a bit jumbled at times. Rask has been really off his game.

Side note though: Despite Rask not being Rask-like so far this season, this save was ridiculous:

But some of these deficiencies just look awful regardless. Are we saying their season is over? Of course not. We’re simply stating a fact: if Chara is out longer than expected and Chiarelli doesn’t find a way to shore up the defense, this team is in big trouble. Just look at the type of goals they let up against a Toronto offense that has been good at taking advantage this season:

Toronto’s First Goal

Admittedly the scenario that led to Kessel’s first goal was a bit unfortunate, but it looked like Trotman panicked a bit when he saw Kessel coming and then Krug kind of held up a bit while Kessel lined up his laser shot. Kessel has historically had trouble scoring against the Bruins but he had his way with them tonight. You may want to note that Julien usually has Chara out on the ice when Kessel is.

Toronto’s Second Goal

Bergeron turnover. 🙁 Then Kessel is off to the races. They didn’t learn their lesson on the first Kessel goal. You can’t, can’t, CAN’T give Phil Kessel room to shoot. Look how the defense backs off and look how much room Kessel has. A shooter like Kessel is rarely going to miss a shot like this.

Toronto’s Third Goal

Why are multiple Bruins covering one guy, why are their backs to the puck and why is Reilly allowed to completely stroll in uncontested? Complete lack of focus.

Toronto’s Fourth Goal

Sure, it’s a power play but how the hell do you let Bozak get behind you like that? Doesn’t help that Rask hasn’t been especially sharp but how can some of you still sit there and tell us the Bruins are fine on defense?

Toronto’s Fifth Goal

Jake Gardiner looks up and says “gee golly, there’s two of my teammates completely uncovered in front of the Bruins net. Maybe if I blast a slapshot they’ll have plenty of space for a tip in!”

And he was right.

Bruins Only Goal

Well, technically. The first goal that was waved off was a sketchy call. Looked like Carl got pushed into  Bernier. Not like it mattered though. This game was out of hand long before that call.

Seidenberg’s goal counted though. What a blast. Got Gagne crashing the net, Seids shoots through traffic. Great set up really. At least the B’s weren’t shut out.

Toronto’s Sixth Goal

Lil Danny Paille looks like he’s about to spring himself on a break away… but tries to chop off a guy’s head instead. Toronto goes on the power play.

Look how easy it is for Holland to blow by the Bruins and score an easy goal. Why are three Bruins players going after one guy? This was just a mess.

This is a team in trouble. If you don’t want to admit that, we don’t care. If you want Chara and Rask trade, you might need to up your medication. With leaders like Bergeron on the team, we can’t see them dishing out this kind of effort a lot going forward. But help is definitely needed.