Joe Corvo has experienced high and low moments already for the Bruins this season.
Hes watched a team win 14 out of 15 games in a bulletproof stretch and he dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL career. Hes shown off some of the attributes most closely associated with his game: the velvet touch with the puck around the blue line that keeps possession in the offensive zone and the ability to move the puck up the ice quickly.
But the veteran blueliner was also billed as a player that would shoot the puck and get results on the power play with the aforementioned heavy point shot. Corvo has fired off 58 shots in 27 games, and doesnt have a single goal to go along with his 10 assists this season. Hes also run hot and cold with his play in the defensive zone, and thats something everyone expected given his strengths and weaknesses as a player.
But hes been on the ice for each of the last four goals scored against the Bruins, and was a big part of defensive breakdowns in the losses to the Jets and Panthers in the last two games. Corvo mentioned his offensive struggles when he spoke about his fight earlier this season, so thats been on his mind.
In fact Bs coach Claude Julien said thatif anythingCorvo is too tough on himself, and he needs to have a shorter memory when it comes to mistakes on the ice. Instead those turnovers and defensive miscues can linger, and a play like Tomas Kopeckys game-winning goal for the Panthers could linger with him after he failed to clear the puck from the front of the net.
I think he is, said Claude Julien when asked if Corvo is battling consistency. The one thing I like about him is that hes a really committed guy and the one flaw I see in him is that hes really hard on himself. Id say its hurting him more than its helping him.
Like a lot of guys he needs to take a step back and understand hes got the skill: he can skate, he can shoot and he can pass. But right now the minute he makes a mistake and carries it through the whole game. That just makes it worse.
Boston Bruins
According to his coach, Corvo needs to simply leave a shift behind whether its a bad one or a good one. Then simply carry on with the job of carrying the puck and giving Boston a solid middle defensemen pairing with Dennis Seidenbergbut both blueliners have battled with consistency this season.
He needs to support himself and needs our support, said Julien. Thats his biggest flaw right now.
Thats the kind of flaw Corvo could turn around rather quickly, and all it might take is a single goal to drop for him while skating in a Black and Gold uniform.