Bruins Need to Break Bad Habits Fast | Snap Shots Episode 52
Liner notes
🎙️ Old habits are creeping back — and it’s costing the Bruins games. After a tumultuous 6–5 loss to Vegas, Boston’s second straight defeat exposed defensive lapses, risky pinches, and costly turnovers that undid five goals of offensive effort. Marco Sturm wasn’t pleased, and neither were we because this team isn’t built for run-and-gun hockey. With back-to-backs looming against Colorado and Utah, the B’s need to tighten up fast. Can they stay disciplined, avoid penalties, and take advantage of Colorado’s goalie uncertainty? Or will the Avs and Mammoth expose Boston’s defensive cracks even further?✨Join the Patreon for Ad Free Listening✨Get Our Merch ✨
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Speaker 1: Old habits die hard, and the Bruins were guilty of
Speaker 1: slipping back into old ways on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1: Bad turnovers, quick goals by Vegas after a Bruins goal,
Speaker 1: and some questionable plays put the Bruins in a bad spot,
Speaker 1: leading to their second straight loss this week. Can they
Speaker 1: get things under control and stay on the offensive when
Speaker 1: they play Colorado and Utah and back to backs this weekend.
Speaker 1: This is a Bruins tape to tape snapshot.
Speaker 2: Before the season started, cam Neely referenced that he wanted
Speaker 2: this year's Boston Bruins team to be harder to play against.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, he went so far as
Speaker 2: to say that when opponents saw them on the schedule,
Speaker 2: they would say to themselves, shit, we have to play
Speaker 2: these guys well. Clearly, the Vegas Golden Knights did not
Speaker 2: get that memo, as they beat the Bruins six to
Speaker 2: five on Thursday evening. The Bruins have now suffered their
Speaker 2: second loss in a row, and some old bad habits
Speaker 2: that were slowly creeping into the game against the Blackhawks
Speaker 2: reared their ugly head in the game against the Vegas
Speaker 2: Golden Knights, and it cost them a win. There were
Speaker 2: costly turnovers at inopportune times. The Bruins would take a
Speaker 2: lead only to give said lead back again. There were
Speaker 2: drop passes that were left for no one but a
Speaker 2: Vegas Golden Night player to be picked up. There were
Speaker 2: ill advised pinches. All in all, it was not a
Speaker 2: good night for the Boston Bruins, despite the fact that
Speaker 2: they scored five goals, and even Marco Sturm was not
Speaker 2: pleased with how the Bruins played. They are supposed to
Speaker 2: be a defense oriented team. They are not equipped to
Speaker 2: get into a run and gun situation with the likes
Speaker 2: of the Vegas Golden Knights, in my opinion, and if
Speaker 2: the Bruins are not able to clean up a lot
Speaker 2: of the mistakes that they made in that game, the
Speaker 2: Colorado Avalanche are going to feast, and feast mightily when
Speaker 2: they faced the Boston Bruins on Saturday Night.
Speaker 1: Like in the Tampa Bay game, Boston's good moments were
Speaker 1: peppered throughout the game, constantly giving us hope that they
Speaker 1: could pull off a win, but the hill was too
Speaker 1: steep and too long to climb, and they ran out
Speaker 1: of time. In both games, the box score for the
Speaker 1: Vegas game is deceptive. There were certainly moments that were
Speaker 1: very lopsided against the Bruins, and the Bees continue to
Speaker 1: make non superstar goalies look like VESNA candidates. As much
Speaker 1: as I appreciate the hard work, the good effort, the
Speaker 1: right attitude on the ice, as well as a solid
Speaker 1: defensive structure, I hate to say it, but in the
Speaker 1: line last two games, I'm getting the sense that Boston
Speaker 1: is just not good enough to beat some of these teams.
Speaker 1: This is where heart, grit, perseverance, determination, whatever you want
Speaker 1: to call it, just can't beat talent. They have to
Speaker 1: figure out a way to make up for it. The
Speaker 1: most I've seen has been on quick moves, transitions and
Speaker 1: faceoff win shots. See Castelk's faceoff goal and Mikey's quick
Speaker 1: shot on Schmidt to the five hole for the Bruins'
Speaker 1: fifth goal. They have to start thinking like that they
Speaker 1: got out shot because they were on the PK five
Speaker 1: times for a total of twelve penalty minutes, including a
Speaker 1: double minor for Zaka. They can't play this way against Colorado,
Speaker 1: another team absolutely worth being a little afraid of. In fact,
Speaker 1: the Abs have yet to lose a game in regulation,
Speaker 1: and Scott Wedgwood has played all five of their opening
Speaker 1: games thus far. The only potential weakness that the Abs
Speaker 1: have at this point is not having a known backup goalie.
Speaker 1: They currently have Trent Minor on the books, and he's
Speaker 1: only ever played two games in his career at the
Speaker 1: NHL level. Their other goalie, Mackenzie Blackwood, recently completed a
Speaker 1: stint in the AHL for conditioning as part of his
Speaker 1: recovery from an injury, but it's unclear what the status
Speaker 1: is for him right now. It does not appear that
Speaker 1: he will be available Saturday, when the Abs are hosting
Speaker 1: the Bruins. If Boston can stop with the back and
Speaker 1: forth up and down that play that storm described in
Speaker 1: a postgame interview, perhaps they can take advantage of either
Speaker 1: the overused Wedgewood or the untested Minor quickly be disciplined
Speaker 1: enough to not take silly penalties and lock this game
Speaker 1: down early. But we shall see. I don't have to
Speaker 1: tell you who Jeremy Swayman has to worry about with
Speaker 1: this Colorado roster. He just needs to be in top
Speaker 1: form in Utah. Carol Vamelca is holding down the fort
Speaker 1: between the pipes. He's exceeding expectations right now with a
Speaker 1: sub two goals against average and a nine to nine
Speaker 1: save percentage. Barrett Hayton, Dylan Gunther, and Jack McBain are
Speaker 1: Mammoth players to watch out for, while Gunther and Nick
Speaker 1: Schmaltz lead the team in shot attempts. If the Bruins
Speaker 1: can quickly neutralize these players, they do have a fair
Speaker 1: shot at winning this game and when they must in
Speaker 1: order to keep pace with the rest of their division
Speaker 1: and the conference. Make sure you rate and review the
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