Bruins Struggle Offensively in Shutout Loss to Rangers

BOSTON - For the second time this week the Bruins were unable to get on the board, as they were shutout by the New York Rangers, 4-0, on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. The loss dropped Boston to 1-2-1 over its last four games, during which the B's have scored just five goals.
During Saturday's setback, the Bruins managed just 18 shots on goal and barely sniffed a legitimate scoring chance, while allowing more than one goal for the first time in six games.

"I don't think you can put it on one thing," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said when asked to analyze his club's recent struggles. "You see a game like that, as a coach you say, 'Are we tired? Or are we out of shape?' And then you sort through it and realize there are some people out of the lineup that allow you to play faster so your team looks faster and crisper.
"It's not an easy answer. I think it's a combination of a lot of different things. I think we're gonna struggle when our top line is off. It showed. They weren't in sync, the power play wasn't in sync."
While Cassidy acknowledged that the Bruins are not quite the same team - for a number of reasons - as the one that started the season 10-1-2, he also was not about to excuse its lack of effort and focus on Saturday.
"However you stack them up, it's unacceptable," said Cassidy. "Your effort has to be there every night. Effort and execution fall on the players. We didn't execute well, that's gonna happen. Our effort, it was not there…that's atypical with this group. That's the most disappointing thing today - our complete lack of effort and push back."

Marchand Suits Up

After collecting three assists in Boston's win over the Rangers on Thursday night, Brad Marchand missed Friday's practice, leaving his status for Saturday's matinee in question. Marchand ultimately felt good enough to play after making it through warmups, though Cassidy acknowledged that the winger was "playing hurt," which contributed to a subpar night for the B's top line.
"He obviously was off," Cassidy said of Marchand, who landed one shot on goal and took two penalties in 16:56 of ice time. "He's a guy that can certainly drive the line some nights with his initial entries…[Patrice Bergeron] was killing more penalties than we'd like, so that might have affected his energy level.
"They're gonna have off nights. We need other people to pick us up and they've got to get going. Look down the lineup and see some guys who could help us if those three have an off night…that's what good teams do. We did not do that today."

DeBrusk Sidelined

The Bruins received some unfortunate news before the game with Jake DeBrusk having to miss the contest after being entered into the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. The timing could not have been worse for the winger, who returned to the lineup on Thursday night with, perhaps, his best game of the season.
"It's a tough break for him," said Cassidy. "He'll have to go through the protocol now and hopefully pop some negative tests or realize like [Charlie] Coyle it was a false positive. We don't know that, but hopefully that's the case for him and he can get right back in there.
"I'm sure he's feeling good about himself after the other night. A little bit of adversity for him this year."

Miller May Travel

Kevan Miller, who has missed the last 10 games, has begun skating as he makes his way back from some discomfort in his surgically repaired knee. Per Cassidy, the blue liner could travel with the team for the trip to Pittsburgh and Buffalo next week.
Brandon Carlo, meanwhile, has yet to return to the ice after suffering an upper-body injury on a hit from Washington's Tom Wilson on March 5. Cassidy did say that Carlo is "coming around" though there is no timetable for a return.
Cassidy also said that Zach Senyshyn, who suffered an upper-body injury in his season debut on Thursday, is not likely to require surgery and could be back after the upcoming four-game road trip.