The Boston Bruins' improvement under interim head coach Joe Sacco, including a 7-2-0 record since the change behind bench, was going to be put to the test in a major way during this five-game road trip out West.
The Bruins failed the first test in embarrassing fashion Tuesday night in Winnipeg.
The Jets, who entered the game tied atop the NHL standings, beat the Bruins 8-1. Winnipeg led 2-0 after 20 minutes, 3-1 after 40 minutes and then outscored Boston 5-0 in the third period.
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The result itself is a sharp reversal from what we've seen from the Bruins since they fired Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19. The Bruins under Sacco have been one of the league's best defensive teams. They went into Tuesday ranked No. 2 in shot attempts against, No. 5 in shots on net against, No. 2 in scoring chances against, No. 1 in high-danger chances against and No. 5 in goals against over his first nine games as interim head coach.
That improved defense was nowhere to be found as the Jets, who have plenty of elite offensive talent (most notably Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor), took advantage of the Bruins' defensive mistakes and punished a penalty kill that's struggled throughout the season.
The Bruins were undisciplined under Montgomery and still lead the league in minor penalties taken. They were undisciplined Tuesday, which gave the Jets' No. 2 ranked power play six opportunities, and they cashed in on three of them.
Forgot to tweet the goal cause was busy watching the main event 🥊 pic.twitter.com/tw8GIoN6HY
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) December 11, 2024
Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman also took a massive step back, giving up a career-high eight goals on 35 shots (.771 save percentage).
He posted a lackluster .884 save percentage in 14 appearances while Montgomery was the coach. Before Tuesday, Swayman had a .918 save percentage in his first six appearances since Sacco took over, but that number now stands at .890 after Tuesday.
Swayman, for the whole season, now ranks dead last among qualifying goalies with minus-11.6 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. Connor Hellebuyck, who stood in the opposite crease for the Jets on Tuesday night, ranks No. 1 at 16.8 goals saved above expected. Swayman's underwhelming and inconsistent play this season is a major reason why the Bruins have hovered around the .500 mark for so long.
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The most interesting postgame reaction to this abysmal Bruins loss came from captain Brad Marchand, who didn't sound too surprised by the outcome.
"This (loss) was coming. Our practices have been sloppy," Marchand told reporters after the game. "Our execution has been off there, and it bleeds into games. The way you practice is how you play. It starts there. We need to do a better job at being good at practice, and that'll translate to games."
This isn't the first time Marchand has brought up the fact that the Bruins need to be better in practices.
Here's what he said after the Bruins beat the Utah Hockey Club in Sacco's debut as interim head coach on Nov. 21:
"Practice habits are where you develop all of your game habits," Marchand said after that game. "It's such a cliché thing, but you practice how you play. When you practice bad, you play bad. When we compete in practice and have high tempo and are crisp and detailed, playing direct to the net and chipping pucks, that carries into the game. It's all momentum.
"You have a bad practice, that momentum carries into the game, too. You want to see it in the game, but I want to see it more in practice everyday. That's where you build your consistency and your compete. You build it in practice, you show it in games."
The Bruins feasted on a soft schedule over the first nine games after the coaching change. Only one of those nine opponents was in a playoff spot. The Bruins, who have the seventh-toughest remaining schedule, are about to face tougher opponents more often, especially on this road trip where each team is in, or close to, a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
This defeat needs to serve as a wakeup call for the Bruins. They aren't a high-scoring team, which means their margin for error is much smaller than previous editions of this roster. Self-inflicted mistakes like defensive breakdowns, too many penalties and a lack of attention to detail are often going to result in losses like we saw in Winnipeg.
The best way to eliminate these mistakes is to practice better. Marchand is right: That's where it all starts. And as team captain and a future Hall of Famer, he needs to lead the charge in righting the ship during practice.