I'm not sure why he's smiling so bright

The Boston Bruins headed into the NHL trade deadline on Mar. 3 after the Olympic break on a sour note. En route to snapping a four-game winning streak, the Bruins lost with yet another lackluster effort Tuesday night, 4-1, to the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Garden.

Going into Tuesday night’s contests in third-place — one-point ahead of Montreal — in the Northeast Division, the B’s dipped back down into the log-jam of the Eastern Conference; parked in eighth-place with 65 points along with the New York Rangers.

A win over the Habs on Tuesday night would have put the B’s in sole possession of seventh-place in the East; two-points shy of the sixth-place Philadelphia Flyers, and five points ahead of the 12th seed Tampa Bay Lightning.

But taking 10 points in the six games prior was an accomplishment considering their horrendous 10-game losing streak that lasted the three weeks prior.

No, Mar. 3 was the day where Peter Chiarelli was going to right the ship by wheeling-and-dealing the appropriate pieces to improve this borderline playoff club. He was going to address two major weaknesses, seek out those suitable replacements, and acquire them. A top-nine forward who can light the lamp, and add another puck-moving defenseman to provide some depth come playoff time.

Click here to read the rest of my thoughts at Examiner.com