Bruins GM Don Sweeney admits offense is 'major concern' amid slump

The Boston Bruins have lost three of their last four games, largely due to a struggling offense and banged-up defense corps. 

After being held to two goals or less in five of their last seven games, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney admitted Wednesday that the team's offense is a "major concern," according to NESN's Logan Mullen.

"Not at the current rate we're going," Sweeney said over Zoom on Wednesday when asked if the Bruins have the in-house options to break through offensively. "Clearly we've played well defensively in the last five games or such. We just haven't generated — or finished, I should say — five-on-five is just not where it needs to be to consistently win, or to extend leads if you do get them. So, it's a concern across the board. It's not so much the top-heavy part of it, just overall. I think that injuries have played a little bit of a factor there on the back end, but we've also not given up that much. Goaltenders are playing pretty well. So yeah, I think it's a major concern for us."

Boston's first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak has been consistent this season, but the Bruins tend to lean too heavily on their primary goal scorers. In fact, 32 of Boston's 64 goals have come from its top line. 

The Bruins' secondary scoring issues date back a few years now. Sweeney tried to address those issues by adding Charlie Coyle, Ondrej Kase and Craig Smith, but all have underperformed. Jake DeBrusk has also been a concern for the Bruins, with head coach Bruce Cassidy saying, "we're not getting the effort required" out of the winger. 

The NHL trade deadline is still a month away, but Sweeney admitted that the Bruins will be active and will make calls as more teams fall out of the playoff picture. 

It's unclear which players the Bruins might be willing to trade in order to upgrade at certain positions. If DeBrusk continues to struggle, he could be available. David Krejci will become a free agent at the end of the season, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Bruins plan to bring him back. If they decide he's expendable, he could be available in trade negotiations.