Bruins' Lucic after loss to Predators: 'Things aren't coming easy for us'

Nobody's feeling sorry for the Boston Bruins but themselves these days.

The reigning President's Trophy winners dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, keeping them in sixth place in the Atlantic Division and outside the playoff picture one week before Christmas.

Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who scored the game's opening goal, attempted to take up the mantle of leadership after the game by expressing the team's current mindset.

"It's just that kind of year, things aren't coming easy for us," Lucic told reporters. "We have to find a way to get some wins here, just cause you look at the standings, we're starting to get behind the eight ball.

"I think there's still another level to our game and we need to start bringing that little bit of extra that makes us a great team, and gives us wins."

A big indication of what's going wrong for the Bruins is their minus-2 goal differential, well off the plus-84 pace posted a year ago. Scoring, or a lack thereof, has been the biggest issue, as the club is on pace to score 206 goals this season, down from 261 in 2013-14. As a point of comparison, only five teams scored fewer than 206 goals last season, with the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings hitting that exact mark.

With center David Krejci out of the lineup due to injury, the Bruins will need to manufacture some scoring and fast, or face the very real possibility of falling further behind in the Atlantic.