I'll say it: They really miss Ryder and Kaberle.

OK, maybe that's a stretch. Yet it's still frightening when you realize that Ryder has more points this season than David Krejci, and more goals than anyone not named Tyler Seguin, Milan Lucic, or Rich Peverly. Meanwhile, Kaberle has 16 shots on net, more than Nathan Horton, Krejci, or Chris Kelly. I mean, good grief, Mark Recchi has one fewer goal than Krejci this season.

A loss against Ottawa tonight and it's creeping closer to the point where Peter Chiarelli may have to make a drastic move. That's not to say blow it up, for the core here is still a defending champion, no matter what the breaks were they got along the way. Then again, what minor deal is going to do anything of significant worth for this team?

Unless Johnny Boychuk is going to land you Zach Parise? No?

The bigger question as we progress though is what are the Bruins willing to do with Krejci should this slide continue? As Krejci - in the final year of his deal - goes, so too do the Bruins. One only needs to look back to last year's collapse against the Flyers, when his absence was a major reason for blowing a 3-0 lead. But he also disappears far too often to be completely depended upon. One HF Board member said that he reminds him of Jozef Stumpel - "He's got skill and shows flashes of being a very good player, but never seems to put it together for a season."

Ouch. 

If Krejci goes on a hot streak, does Chiarelli use him as a trading chip? He may have no trade value right now, but should he get hot, Chiarelli shouldn't be fooled again.

Maybe he can even land Ryder.