Asked if the Bruins have enough to break through their offensive struggles, Sweeney said, "Not at the current rate that we're going. Clearly, we've played well defensively in the last five games or such. We just haven't generated, or finished, I should say. Five-on-5 is not where it needs to be to consistently win, or to extend leads if you do get them.
"It's a concern across the board. … Injuries have played a little bit of a factor there on the back end, but we've also not given up that much. Goaltenders are playing pretty well. So yeah, it's a major concern for us."
The Bruins' first line of Brad Marchand (28 points; 12 goals, 16 assists), Patrice Bergeron (22 points; nine goals, 13 assists) and David Pastrnak (21 points; 11 goals, 10 assists) has been productive, but Boston's scoring drops off sharply after that.
The Bruins had not received a goal at even strength this season from David Krejci, Ondrej Kase or Jake DeBrusk, the three forwards who were supposed to make up their second line.
DeBrusk was a healthy scratch in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders on Tuesday but played against the New York Rangers on Thursday. He had scored five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 games. Krejci, who scored 13 goals last season, had 11 assists in 19 games; five of those assists on the power play. Kase has been limited to two games because of an upper-body injury and there is no timeline for his return.
The Bruins were 3-5-2 in their past 10 games after a 10-1-2 start.
Remaking a roster isn't as easy as it has been in the past, given the flat NHL salary cap of $81.5 million this season, COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine issues.
"We certainly have areas that we would like to explore to add, but it's been challenging," Sweeney said. "I think things will loosen up because there will be some teams that will identify themselves as not necessarily in the position they want to be, and some player movement will happen."
