Updated Oct. 13
It's probably a good thing the Boston Bruins are getting away for a few days right now.
Only two weeks into the season, the defending regular season conference champions already look like they need a change of scenery to regroup and the first road trip of the season offers a chance to do that. The timing is good too since the local spotlight of disappointment is more focused on the Red Sox and Patriots these days. That's really a break for the Bruins who have been just as disappointing.
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| Tuukka Rask and the Bruins are not off to a particularly good start this season. (AP) |
Coach Claude Julien has talked about mental mistakes and bad decisions overshadowing some good efforts, which in coach speak is one way of saying players are believing too much of their own hype. Boston certainly has one of the more-talented lineups in the league and worked hard enough to become a powerhouse last season, but so far the Bruins have been reluctant to really compete in most games. And the tepid effort level has been most apparent in special-team play. Boston's power play has connected only four times in 29 chances so far and the penalty killers have given up eight goals in 26 tries.
Normally a team looks to its leaders to change the dynamics, but so far Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas is sporting an ugly .868 save percentage, while Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara has only two assists so far and a minus-1 rating. Of course, there have been encouraging performances from forwards Marc Savard, Michael Ryder and Steve Begin, but for the most part the Bruins have played like they are entitled to something.
They're not and maybe being away will help change that. The Bruins have too good a team not to turn things around, but they may end up digging themselves a big hole that will be tough to climb out of.
Here are this week's rankings:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
 | 1 | Capitals · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Jose Theodore is playing his best hockey since joining the Caps. He has won 10 starts in a row despite facing more than 35 shots in each game. | ||||||||||
 | 2 | Sharks · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| San Jose is riding an eight-game winning streak on the road, where it has league's best record. | ||||||||||
 | 3 | Kings · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| They get ahead and put things away. The Kings are 22-0 this season when taking a lead into the third period. | ||||||||||
 | 4 | Blackhawks · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| Chicago's power play has been struggling lately, connecting only once in 22 tries in the past seven games. | ||||||||||
 | 5 | Senators · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| Ottawa did not allow more than two goals in a game during its 11-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 37-13. | ||||||||||
 | 6 | Canucks · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| Mason Raymond already has scored more goals this season than in his first two combined. | ||||||||||
 | 7 | Coyotes · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| Despite its problems scoring on the power play, Phoenix needs only one more win to match last season's total. | ||||||||||
 | 8 | Devils · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| Is the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk the ticket out of a very winnable Eastern Conference? | ||||||||||
 | 9 | Sabres · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Only two wins in their past 10 games has put the Northeast title in jeopardy for the Sabres. | ||||||||||
 | 10 | Penguins · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Sid's still scoring on a regular basis, but the defending Cup champs look vulnerable in their back end. | ||||||||||
 | 11 | Avalanche · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| With Matt Duchene leading the way, Avs rookies have put up 114 points this season. | ||||||||||
 | 12 | Lightning · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| Stability looks to be coming with an ownership change and maybe a playoff spot, too, thanks to seven wins in their past 10 games. | ||||||||||
 | 13 | Flyers · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| Struggling to bury shots lately. Philly had 72 of them in the past two games, but both were losses because the Flyers scored only once. | ||||||||||
 | 14 | Ducks · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| The Ducks aren't doing it against Pacific Division rivals this season with only three wins in 17 games. | ||||||||||
 | 15 | Flames · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| Jarome Iginla has scored only four goals in 2010 and none so far in February. | ||||||||||
 | 16 | Predators · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| Falling fast in the West with only three wins in their past 10 games. | ||||||||||
 | 17 | Red Wings · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| The injury jinx isn't letting up in Detroit with Tomas Holmstrom going down almost as soon as he returned. | ||||||||||
 | 18 | Hurricanes · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| The selloff has officially begun with Niclas Wallin leaving. Ray Whitney is likely to be next. | ||||||||||
 | 19 | Canadiens · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| Jaroslav Halak is starting to take control of the starting goaltending job in Montreal. | ||||||||||
 | 20 | Blues · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| Plenty of pain caused by this offense. The Blues have won only 13 of 28 one-goal decisions, and eight of 25 when the other team scores first. | ||||||||||
 | 21 | Stars · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Marty Turco is making himself more attractive as the trade deadline approaches. The Stars goalie has stopped 98 of 101 shots in his past three starts. | ||||||||||
 | 22 | Wild · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| The Wild are staying in the playoff hunt because of the way they play at home. Minnesota has picked up points in its past nine games at the Xcel. | ||||||||||
 | 23 | Thrashers · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| Is Kari Lehtonen, just back from his conditioning stint, still the goalie of the future or one of the past? | ||||||||||
 | 24 | Rangers · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| He rarely gets any goal support, so Henrik Lundqvist had to turn back 41 shots to end his personal six-game losing streak. | ||||||||||
 | 25 | Bruins · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| Did you expect that it would take anything less than a shutout to end an ugly 10-game losing streak? | ||||||||||
 | 26 | Panthers · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| Florida's offense has gone missing lately with the Panthers scoring only 12 times in the past 10 games. | ||||||||||
 | 27 | Blue Jackets · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| Change apparently is good for the Jackets, who have won their first two under new coach Claude Noel. | ||||||||||
 | 28 | Islanders · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| The ice might be thinning under coach Scott Gordon as the Islanders have been playing themselves out of the postseason race of late. | ||||||||||
 | 29 | Maple Leafs · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| New Leafs goalie looks like the Giggy of old with shutouts in his first two starts. | ||||||||||
 | 30 | Oilers · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| Ethan Moreau hasn't scored in 33 games, Shawn Horcoff in 15. That helps explain why Edmonton has only 11 goals in its past seven games. | ||||||||||
