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They were the best team in the Eastern Conference last season and were the best team in the Eastern Conference through the first two months of this season. But since December, the Bruins have been nothing short of brutal. From their goaltending, to their defense, to their forwards - they've been nothing short of awful. How does one team play so well for two months and then fall apart so badly?
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CHIRPIN'
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"I was actually thinking of going to Vegas again. This is more exciting. I thought two years ago I had a better chance. The bottom line is there's always 10 or 15 guys who feel they should be there."
-- Carolina forward Jeff O'Neill on being added to the Eastern Conference All-Star team
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THE NUMBER
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That's how long the Senators' franchise-best shutout streak lasted, which is the fourth longest in modern NHL history. Three goalies participated in it -- Patrick Lalime, Ray Emery and Martin Prusek.
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WHO'S HOT
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New Jersey forward Jeff Friesen has four goals and three assists in his past five games (through Jan. 16), after scoring 7-9-16 in his previous 38.
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WHO'S NOT
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After scoring eight goals in his first seven games, Sabres' forward Chris Gratton has two goals in his last 26.
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THIS WEEK'S SIGN ...
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... the Earth is off its axis: During the offseason, the Capitals signed Robert Lang to a $25 million contract to set up Jaromir Jagr, but it has taken a bargain-basement center -- Kip Miller, who makes $550,000 -- to get Jagr on track.
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Sure, they miss Sergei Samsonov, who is out until probably late March because of a wrist injury that required surgery, and sure they missed Joe Thornton when he was out of the lineup for five games because of an elbow infection. They also miss versatile forward Rob Zamuner, who is sidelined with a broken foot.
But there is no shortage of blame to go around.
The goaltenders didn't stop the puck, hence the trade of John Grahame to Tampa Bay. The forwards were getting banged around, hence the trade that acquired Krzysztof Oliwa. The defense has been disorganized, and yet they still haven't dealt disgruntled blueliner Kyle McLaren for some help. As time passes, he's value is decreasing because of the time it will take him to get into playing shape. And as the losing continues, other teams will offer general manager Mike O'Connell less and less.
Do they go after a sniper? A goaltender? A defenseman?
The first two months of the season, the Bruins didn't look like they needed anything. Now, they look like they need everything. Their embarrassment has been especially acute during the last eight games, which have brought them seven ugly losses; the worst was a 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
"When times are tough like that, it's tough to be negative all the time because you can't go much lower, but we have the personnel to do it," said forward Martin Lapointe. "We're not playing as sharp as we did at the beginning of the season and we know that. That's when guys go out and try to do too much and that's when things are getting worse. We need to stop talking about it, just go out there and do it."
So far, that hasn't happened.
"You just shake your head," said center Brian Rolston. "We've had a million meetings, we've gone over the videos. It's just a matter of doing it. There's no question the execution is slightly off, to say the least. When things go bad, you don't do the things you do when you have confidence. It's just a snowball effect."
And it's only going one way -- downhill -- and fast.
Discovering the value of training camp
Training camp seems interminable to players, but Byron Dafoe's woes illustrate just how important it is. The Thrashers goalie, who signed as an unrestricted free agent in November after missing camp and the early part of the season because he was waiting for a contract offer, strained his right groin against Carolina on Dec. 20. He recovered from that only to strain the left on Monday. He's expected to miss a couple of weeks and likely will be out until after All-Star weekend.
"Fortunately, he only has two legs," quipped general manager Don Waddell. "He doesn't have anything else to hurt."
Dafoe said he was in the best shape of his life when he signed with Atlanta, but there's no substitute for NHL workouts.
Depth chart
The Toronto Maple Leafs own the ice at home -- they are 12-0-1 during their last 13 games at the Air Canada Centre. On the road this year, they haven't been even close to that good. They're only 7-10-2-1.
Speaking of the Leafs, they picked up forward Harold Druken off waivers from Carolina, but played him just five games before waiving him. He's due to be paid $715,000 if he stays in the NHL, but that salary figures evaporates to just $35,000 in the minors. If he didn't get claimed, he was scheduled to be shipped to his hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland. Instead, he was reclaimed by Carolina on Friday. "I'm optimistic I can play in the NHL," said the 23-year-old. Druken played in 18 games this season, three with Vancouver and 10 with Carolina before joining the Leafs.
Just what the Sabres need. Reports out of Buffalo are that the Sabres might be in danger of losing some players to unrestricted free agency because of their financial problems. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, players who aren't paid can begin a 21-day grievance process. If they still don't get their money, the league would order them waived or declared UFAs. The players involved are Curtis Brown and Jay McKee, who are each owed $133,000 and Brian Campbell, who is owed $25,000.
The Rangers may be 6-3-1-0 in their last 10, but they have their work cut out for them during the weeks ahead. They face Philly and the Islanders four times each, the Devils and Senators three times each and have an 11-day, six-game trip next month that travels through three time zones. "Wins, we need wins and nothing less," said center Eric Lindros. "We put ourselves in the position where we can't afford another slide."
Great to see such a rewarding debut for veteran Joe Sacco, who scored the decisive goal for Philly in a 4-1 win over Montreal. Sacco couldn't find an NHL team after his contract with Washington expired last year. He skated with his former college team -- Boston University -- and played in a tournament overseas in Germany. Then he got a tryout with the Philadelphia Phantoms, which led to the Flyers signing him for the rest of the year. It was his first NHL goal since March 30, 2001.
The Islanders have been on a roll as of late, going 11-5-2-2 in their last 20 games. They haven't lost two straight in regulation since Nov. 29-30 vs. Columbus and Ottawa.
The Hurricanes have scored a paltry 98 goals in 45 games. Only three teams have scored fewer, which is pretty dismal for the defending Eastern Conference champion. At this rate, the 'Canes could go the way of the 1995-96 Devils and 1998-99 Capitals who finished the season first in the East, only to miss the playoffs the next season. In their past 10 games, the Hurricanes are a woeful 1-7-1-1.
Capitals' defenseman Ken Klee, a healthy scratch early in the season, has found a home alongside Sergei Gonchar. Combined, the two are averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time and are a combined plus-40. "You don't always know which one came first, the confidence or the playing time," said general manager George McPhee. 'But Kenny wasn't in the lineup early in the year and now he's starting to get a lot of ice time and he's playing really well."
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been struggling on the road of late. In their past 10 games away from home, they've won only once (1-6-1-2). Forward Martin St. Louis was added to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, but he said there's something more important. "I would give it all back for a guaranteed chance to be in the playoffs," he said.
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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