CHICAGO — Eleven.
That’s the number of goals the Bruins have allowed over their last two games, a win over the Blues and a loss to the Blackhawks. And while there’s a more heartening corresponding number — 10, the number of goals that the Bruins have scored — the defensive effort has to give the Bruins some concern.
It didn’t help that the team was down two defensemen in Sunday’s game in Chicago, with Dennis Seidenberg not on the trip and Kevan Miller ruled out. Miller was injured in the first period against the Blues on Friday and missed the second and third periods of that game. He was seen using crutches on Saturday.
That put Joe Morrow and Zach Trotman in the lineup against the Blackhawks. Instead of sticking with pairings, coach Claude Julien and the Bruins opted to mix and match throughout the game.
“I don’t think it makes it more difficult,’’ Torey Krug said. “You obviously develop chemistry with certain guys, but at the end of the day we’re all playing in the same league and capable of playing with one another. We’ve got to find a way to have a better start, defensively bring it in tighter.’’
While Tuukka Rask admitted that he should have saved a couple of the goals in the St. Louis game, it was hard to blame him for much of what happened Sunday in Chicago.
Not having two of the team’s top-six defensemen didn’t help.
“It hurts,’’ Krug said. “We all know what they bring to the table. Both guys work so hard, and they battle for us. They block shots. They penalty kill. They do a lot of good things defensively.
“We don’t have them, but you can’t sit there and dwell on it. We have guys that came in the lineup, and they’re more than capable of playing those solid games. Collectively as a group, we just have to be better. It’s not about what we’re missing. It’s about what we have.’’
The Bruins do not know — or are unwilling to discuss — who they will have for this week’s games. It is obvious, though, that they need to be better defensively if they want to win all three and make the postseason.
Of Miller, Julien said: “He’s going to come back home [with the team]. We’ll have to obviously get him evaluated by our doctor, but I don’t suspect it’s anything major.’’
It’s also unclear how long Seidenberg will be out. The defenseman has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.
“He started skating this weekend,’’ Julien said. “Again there it’s a matter of whether he’s going to be 100 percent when he gets back or still needs some time.’’
Rask takes a seat
Rask is on pace to finish the season with 65 games played, which helped make it an easy call for Julien to pull him 2:00 into the second period. The Bruins had allowed four goals to the Blackhawks, and Julien wanted to conserve his starter for the final three games of the season.
“I don’t think my No. 1 goaltender needed to be exposed any more than that, the way we were playing in front of him, giving him those quality chances,’’ Julien said. “So it was an opportunity for me to pull him out and maybe even try and change the momentum. But certainly not because of his play.’’
The Bruins had allowed four goals on 22 shots at that point. They allowed two on 12 shots with Jonas Gustavsson in net over the remaining 38:00. Gustavsson had not played since relieving Rask, who was ill, in a March 23 loss to the Rangers in New York.
Rask’s last full game off came March 18, in Anaheim.
“Never feel like that as a goalie,’’ Rask said, of wanting the rest. “You always battle to the last buzzer and try to stop every puck. But obviously the way we played we needed to wake up and do something. A lot of times it’s the last option.’’
Chara gets a breather
Zdeno Chara, who played his second-most minutes of the season (28:29) on Friday night with the Bruins down a defenseman, did not take the ice with the team for Saturday’s practice. “I think it’s just this time of year, it’s smart to rest at a certain point,’’ Chara said. “[Saturday] was probably a good day to take that rest.’’ Chara played 23:48 on Sunday . . . The Bruins and Red Wings are fighting for the third spot in the division. Each team has three games remaining, including one head-to-head matchup on Thursday. The Bruins host Carolina, Detroit, and Ottawa to close out their regular season. The Red Wings host the Flyers on Wednesday before heading on the road to face the Bruins and Rangers.
