Has Latest Bruins’ Two-Game Skid Confirmed Trade Deadline Path?

The Boston Bruins are officially on a two-week hiatus for the 4 Nations Face-Off after blowing their second third-period lead in two games.

What could have meant momentum heading into the last 25 games of the season instead turned into a question of how the team will look when it resumes play on Feb. 22 against the Anaheim Ducks.

“Disappointed to not get a win today,” Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov told reporters after Boston’s 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, per team-provided audio. “It’s do or die for us. We wasted the last two games, four points. It could cost us. Or it could not. We’ll see.”

The Eastern Conference is so jam-packed that on any given night, teams move up and down the standings and in and out of a playoff spot. The Bruins currently find themselves on the outside, with the March 7 trade deadline looming a month away. 

Although the leaders in the locker room have been adamant about the “belief” they have in themselves, Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco doesn’t feel he has any control over the front office’s decision on the roster.

“That’s not really a question that I feel like I need to answer,” Sacco said before Boston’s tilt with Vegas, per team-provided audio. “Our job as a staff and the guys in the room is just to keep pushing the way we can and trying to play the best hockey that we’re capable of playing game in and game out.

“When you look at the standings, there’s six, maybe up to seven teams that are in that wild card/third spot in the division right now. So, that’s really our focus, and that will continue to be our focus moving forward.”

Despite the roller-coaster season, Brad Marchand isn’t ready to give up on his team.

“I mean, I think we can play with anybody,” Marchand told reporters, per team-provided audio. “The difference in the game is very small margins, small details, so we just have to clean it up a little.

“But I think that we can play with anybody. And we’ve seen a lot of — pretty much everyone at this point (in the season) — and I don’t think there’s anybody that we can’t play with.”

Marchand may be convinced Boston can turn its season around, but is it enough to convince Cam Neely and Don Sweeney? Both have stated that the Bruins are considering “two paths.” However, Boston’s latest two-game skid could force its brass to decide to look past this season and “retool” the roster for the future.

For now, it’s a waiting game to see how Sweeney approaches the team’s future.