Can the Bruins win enough home games to make the playoffs?
Despite their 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday night at TD Garden, the Bruins are still in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Entering play Wednesday, the Bruins find themselves two points behind Tampa Bay for second in the Atlantic Division and three points ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who are the top team outside the playoff bubble.
With 22 games left on the regular season docket, it’s not surprising that every point up for grabs from here on out will be extremely important to the Bruins. Half of their remaining games will be played at TD Garden. A large amount of home games down the stretch is usually a good thing for any team in any sport that finds themselves battling for playoff positioning with just weeks to go in their respective seasons. But for the 2015-16 version of the Boston Bruins, that could be the kiss of death.
For most of the Claude Julien era in Boston, TD Garden has been a very difficult place for opponents to play. For reasons unknown to the Bruins, the team has struggled to string wins together on home ice. The Bruins have won just once in their last five at home and have been outscored 26-13 in that stretch.
The Bruins have not won back-to-back at home since December 16th and 20th when they won consecutive games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.
Their road record compared to their home record is day and night. The Bruins’ play on the road is one of the key reasons as to why the sit where they do in the playoff picture.
20-7-3 away from TD Garden while 12-15-3 at home is an alarming stat for Loui Eriksson and the Bruins.
“Yeah, it’s tough. Definitely we want to win when you come home and play in front of your fans, and we’re not playing like we should,’’ Eriksson told the media following Monday’s loss. “I think we play a much better game style when we’re on the road. We just keep it simple and we’re playing hard and not giving that many chances to the other teams. It was another disappointing game to give up as many goals as we did and losing like we did.’’
With 11 more regular season contests at home, the Bruins need to figure out how to bring that road game style that Eriksson talked about to TD Garden and figure out ways to stretch wins together on home ice if playoff plans are in their future. Picking up those much-needed wins at home won’t come easy as seven of the Bruins’ 11 remaining home games come against teams currently holding down a playoff spot.
Overall, the Bruins have done a good job in beating the teams below them in the standings. But beating teams inside the playoff bubble and above them in the standings has been no easy task.
The Bruins’ final three games of the regular season come at home. Chances are pretty high that the six points up for grabs in those three games will be the difference between earning a playoff spot or not. Two of those three final regular season games come against the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, two teams who sit behind the Bruins in the Atlantic Division standings.
There’s no simple answer as to why the Bruins have struggled so much at home. Only the Buffalo Sabres (.383) have a worse home winning percentage than the Bruins currently do (.411).
Because there is no answer to their struggles, there is no simple fix to their TD Garden woes. With the trade deadline next Monday, could a trade turn things around at home? Could the ever-increasing presence of the playoff push be the key to home success?
Only time will tell.
36 images that will remind you how tough the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ were
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