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Columnist: Bruins can’t match Penguins, Habs

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After seeing the Boston Bruins fall short - for the most part -against the Eastern Conference’s top two seeds in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty believes that they’re not “up to snuff.”

Haggerty explains why Boston has a 1-4-1 record in six games against the potent pairing.

That’s how it’s gone for the Bruins this year against both Montreal and Pittsburgh. They’re close to both in terms of competitive ability, but they’re also clearly not as good in a year where they haven’t proven they can beat elite teams.

Sure, each of the five losses to the Habs and Pens (four regulation, one shootout) was by one goal, and those can flip back and fourth depending on the bounce of the puck. But the Black and Gold simply aren’t up to snuff right now against the conference’s best, and there’s work to be done if they hope to beat either one in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Specifically, Haggerty thinks the team needs to be more attentive on defense, work on line combinations without Patrice Bergeron (more on Jaromir Jagr being juggled around here) and still hope to reach that elusive goal of improving their power play.

Still, many probably poked holes in the Bruins team that won it all in 2011, so you never know.