Bruins are lacking a bit in confidence
Perhaps the worst sight in the Bruins' 6-2 loss to the undefeated Buffalo Sabres Saturday was that of goaltender Hannu Toivonen slowly skating off the ice in the second period, with running mate Tim Thomas pulling on his mask, preparing to go in.
"You never want to come in to the game like that," Thomas said after the loss. "That means something went wrong."
Toivonen, making his third straight start, got the hook after allowing four goals to the quick-strike Sabres. In the first period, Toivonen let in a long-distance power-play slapper by Buffalo forward Chris Drury (two goals), who owned the TD Banknorth Garden ice much as he did when he was skating for Boston University.
Later in the first period, Toivonen gave away a goal after dropping his stick during a clearing attempt, allowing forward Ales Kotalik to dump the loose puck into the net.
But while Toivonen didn't have his best stuff, there was a darker reason for Boston's fourth loss of the season. A lack of confidence.
The Sabres have accepted the NHL's new rulebook and stamped their new eyesore of a logo on the cover.
They've gotten steady goaltending from Ryan Miller (6-0-0, 2.73 goals-against average, .908 save percentage) and Martin Biron (2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, .921 save percentage).
They've taken advantage of the penalty crackdown, tuning up their no-nonsense power play to a 24.5 percent efficiency rate while killing 88.5 percent of opposing man-advantages.
They've realized that multiple-goal deficits don't mean squat in this high-powered game.
The Bruins can't say the same.
Neither Toivonen (2-3-0, 3.72 GAA, .884 save percentage) nor Thomas (0-1-1, 4.40 GAA, .866 save percentage) has posted numbers worthy of No. 1 status.
The power play (10.8 percent) went 0 for 4 against Buffalo while the ragged penalty kill (73.0 percent) is the worst in the league, allowing 10 goals on 37 opportunities.
And despite playing a strong first period against the Sabres and narrowing the Buffalo lead to two after Phil Kessel's first career goal in the second period, the Bruins couldn't step on the gas and erase the gap.
"When we get down by a goal or two, we can't quit and pack it in," said Wayne Primeau. "We've got to keep pressing. It's the new NHL, and even when you're down one goal, two goals, or three goals, it's not a sure thing. Around the league, when you look at the box scores, there's a lot of teams that come back from those deficits. We've just got to start believing in ourselves."
To make things worse, the Bruins are dropping at an alarming rate. Saturday, they lost Brad Stuart to a broken right pinky in the second period, meaning they've lost two of their top four defensemen (Andrew Alberts is out with a separated right shoulder) in back-to-back games.
They also were without Mark Mowers and Marco Sturm against the Sabres.
They'll now need some blue-line help, from Providence or elsewhere, to stabilize things and give Zdeno Chara a break.
Saturday, Chara, the league leader in ice time, played a game-high 31:04 and was on the ice for two even-strength Buffalo goals. He's now stuck with a minus-6 rating.
"Not a lot more," coach Dave Lewis said when asked if Chara could log more time. "He can handle that, especially with the schedule."
The Bruins have four straight home games -- three against division rivals -- before they head back on the road for a match against the Atlanta Thrashers. They have until Thursday, their next game, to heal their assorted injuries.
"I truly, sincerely believe that we have a good enough team to do well here," Primeau said. "I don't know why the inconsistency is there. I don't know why it seems like when we get down by a goal or two, the shoulders shrug and the air is taken out of us.
"We've got to start believing in this team and coming back from one- and two-goal deficits. And we've got to start doing it now."
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at FShinzawa@globe.com. 
