The 2014-15 NHL season is still young, but there are a handful of teams who haven't started things off quite the way they had hoped to.
The Boston Bruins are just such a team.
After a tough season opening victory over the hapless Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins have lost three in a row, managing only four goals total in their first four games.
Their next opponent, the Detroit Red Wings, have owned the Bruins in recent regular season play, amassing an 8-1-0 record since 2009-10 and outscoring them 29-15. The Bruins did, however, oust the Wings from the opening round of the playoffs last season.
Detroit defeated Boston 2-1 last Thursday.
The Bruins will see the return of offensive powerhouse and top-line center David Krejci, their leading scorer last season, for this game. But will it be enough for the Bruins to stem the tide and turn things back in their favor?
Or has last season's too-early playoff exit left an indelible mark on the minds of the players - a losing mentality that becomes an inevitably self-fulfilling prophecy?
With 78 games remaining in the season, Boston is doing its best not to panic - yet.
"It's obviously a tough time and not the start we wanted to the season, but that's why we play 82 games. We're looking at this next grouping of games here and we're taking it one at a time. We're just worried about ourselves. We're not worried about other teams. We're focused on our game and how to fix that," said defenseman Torey Krug.
Detroit is wary of facing a dangerous and desperate Boston team, hungry for victory.
"I think they're probably at that point where they're pretty desperate, so in the first little bit we have to weather the storm or match it or better it and then get back and keep playing our game and take it to them," Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith said. "Getting pucks deep and making sure we stay on their D and work their D down low and tire them out that way."
Jimmy Howard, who is 5-1-0, with a 1.97 goals-against average against the Bruins in the regular season, will start in goal for the Wings. Bruins' goaltender Tuukka Rask is 1-5-1 vs. Detroit.
