Marco Sturm wasn't happy with the Bruins' effort after Thursday night's 4-1 loss in St. Louis, their second straight defeat.
According to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe, the Bruins' head coach was disappointed with his team's effort after a second straight sloppy road loss. That's a pointed read from a coach whose team still owns the Atlantic lead.
Boston is 9-4-1, fourth in the NHL and first in the division. But the road record is 4-3-1, and here is how the last five games look.
The box score makes the criticism more interesting. Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 of 18 shots, and the Bruins put 32 on Joel Hofer, 14 more than St. Louis managed.
Volume didn't help. The Blues scored twice on the power play, through Jake Neighbours and Jimmy Snuggerud, while Philip Broberg and Robert Thomas each finished with three points. Sturm had already called out the Bruins after the Carolina loss, so this is a pattern now.
McBride's post sums up the mood around the team after this one, with Sturm's disappointment in the effort front and center.
James Hagens scored the lone Boston goal and logged 15:40 with two shots on goal. Casey Mittelstadt picked up the assist, and that was the extent of the offense.
Saturday brings a quick test for Sturm's Bruins
Chicago arrives Saturday, and Sturm won't have long to get a response. The Bruins are 5-1-0 at home, which is exactly where a team wants to be after two ugly nights away.
Part of the discussion is also how Sturm leans on David Pastrnak's line. When effort is the complaint, lineup deployment gets scrutinized too.
The cushion is real. Boston is 7-2-1 over its last 10 with a +18 goal differential. But a third straight loss with the same complaint from the bench would be a different conversation entirely.
