The Boston Bruins grip on an NHL playoff spot seems to be slipping.
A heartbreaking overtime loss to the Calgary Flames, which saw Claude Julien's group cough up a two-goal lead in the third period, left the Bruins only four points ahead of the Panthers for the final Wild Card spot in the East and only six ahead of the surging Flyers.
After going down 3-0, the Flames set a pace the big, bruising Bruins were simply unable to match and their relentless attack eventually overcame Boston and led to the incredible comeback.
With the postseason looking like a serious question mark and the team in need of a kick in the pants, GM Peter Chiarelli did what any good personnel executive would do - he recalled his star AHL netminder, Malcolm Subban.
While the move itself seems entirely unrelated to the Bruins recent swoon, some, including TSN's Bob McKenzie, believe that may not be the case.
"So yeah, they've got some people breathing down their neck and I don't think they want to go in that direction, but it's obviously an asset they've got," said McKenzie, while appearing on Toronto's TSN 1050, per NicholsOnHockey.com. "...They didn't seem in too big a hurry to play him. You had back-to-backs for Rask and it probably would've been too much pressure for Malcolm, but they had the opportunity to play him against P.K. and the Canadiens on that Sunday game last week and they didn't do it. Now he's on his way to Edmonton, and by all accounts has a pretty fair chance of maybe being in the net in that game. So who knows?
"But I would think the door is open for anything to happen."
Of course, it's easy to connect the dots and say that the former first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft is being brought up to showcase his skills for a potential trade deadline deal. It's also entirely possible and, frankly, more likely that that's not the case and Chiarelli is just looking to give Bruins starter Tuukka Rask a night off.
But with the postseason no longer assured and the Bruins faithful getting restless, there's no discounting a possible move, especially for a team and fanbase that have become so used to meaningful spring hockey.
