Deficits: Bruins Fall To Short-Handed Caps

by Kristian Limas on Jan 24, 2012 10:38 PM EST in Game Recaps

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 24: Cody Eakin #50 of the Washington Capitals brings the puck around the net against Chris Kelly #23 of the Boston Bruins at the Verizon Center on January 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

It looked as if the Bruins were already on their way out for the All-Star Break. Sloppy defensive play was the theme of the night for the Bruins as they let a short-handed Washington Capitals team get the best of them in a 5-3 loss Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.

Despite a two point performance from Patrice Bergeron it was a Mathieu Perreault hat trick that powered the Caps past Tuukka Rask and the Bruins.

Schools Out

Usually when the Capitals are minus the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom it will mean an easier night for the competition. Unfortunately for the Bruins, it seemed like the D-corps felt the need to check out early as well. At least three of the Caps goals, including two of Perrault's hat-trick goals, were the product of turnovers off Bruins defensemen. Usually the Bruins are extremely effective with their D-to-D passes in the offensive zone but the Bruins lacked awareness all night, letting Caps forwards jump on ill advised passes creating costly turnovers.

Tuukka Time?

Though it's hard to blame Rask for his rough night considering his shoddy defensive support he still was not his normally sharp self. The first Capitals goal of the night was one that he should have had and it set a bad tone for the rest of the game.

Let's Just Get Home

The All-Star Break could not have gotten here at a better time for the Bruins. Through January they are 7-5-1, not bad by any means but certainly not up to the standards they had set since propelling themselves to the top of the eastern conference. What has been more worrisome than their record has been the bad habits that have been creeping in. Sub-par defensive play, incomplete efforts, and average goaltending have certainly made their presence known despite the Bruins' ability to scrap out wins when they perhaps didn't deserve one. That's before even mentioning the recent injuries and suspensions that have had their own effects on the Bruins' game.

Hopefully the break will serve as a good chance to simply clear the mechanism and re-focus before what should be a competitive final stretch. The Bruins will return to action next Tuesday when they face the surprising Ottawa Senators.

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To quote Haggerty: "Claude Julien was asked about the Bruins’ defense tnight in 5-3 loss to the Capitals: “Our defense? There was none.” Boom. Roasted by Claude"

Seriously, what the hell happened? We went from #1 in the nhl in defense and goals allowed to 19 goals allowed in 5 games? That’s 3.8 goals a game, or roughly half a goal per game more than the worst team in the league.

The best case scenario is that our defense mentally took off early for the all-star games and that is one terrible scenario. It’s not even like it was one or two defenseman falling asleep over that range – not a single defenseman was a plus over the last 5 games except for Ference, who has another issue to deal with (mainly another game on his well-deserved suspension for a bad hit).

I sure hope this is just fatigue or boredom and not some deep-set problem. C’mon guys, defense is like the most basic, fundamental building block to Boston’s game.