The Boston Bruins suffered one of their ugliest losses of the 2021-22 season Thursday night, making it very clear that this team must boost its scoring depth ahead of next month's NHL trade deadline.
The B's took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on the road against the New York Islanders. Instead of finishing the game with a strong effort, the Islanders scored four unanswered goals over the final 40 minutes to earn a 4-1 win.
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Boston's scoring output of late has been troubling, even before Brad Marchand was suspended six games for his incident with Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry last week.
The Bruins have averaged just 1.5 goals scored over the last eight games. They've scored one or fewer goals in four of those matchups. Unsurprisingly, Boston is 3-4-1 over that span.
General manager Don Sweeney has several roster needs to address at the trade deadline. Help is needed on the blue line, but the top priority needs to be adding a goal scorer. This player preferably would be a No. 2 center -- someone like J.T. Miller or Tomas Hertl -- but a winger would be a much-needed upgrade, too.
For example, around 75 percent of the Bruins' goals from right wingers this season have been scored by David Pastrnak, who's gone four consecutive games without a single point. Craig Smith has posted one assist in back-to-back games, but he's scored only one goal in his last 13 appearances. Nick Foligno has been a disaster with one goal in 31 games this season.
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Other middle-six wingers are struggling, too. Jake DeBrusk hasn't scored in his last eight games, and he has only one goal in his last 11 matchups. Tomas Nosek has zero goals in his last 17 games. Erik Haula is scoreless in his last five games.
The Bruins' four most likely first-round opponents in the playoffs are the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. All of them rank among the top nine teams in goals scored per game.
Boston doesn't have the offensive firepower, as currently constructed, to outscore these teams in a seven-game playoff series, especially if the Bruins' top line or power play doesn't dominate. This is why it's so important that Sweeney acquires a proven goal scorer at the trade deadline to bolster the Bruins' scoring depth and make this team more difficult to defend.