Perhaps because of what they saw with their baseball team this year, Boston sports fans can tend to have a hard time dealing with one of their beloved teams getting off to a slow start. Through four games, a miniscule sample size, the Bruins are 1-3-0 -- their worst start since 1999 -- as they prepare to face the Blackhawks Saturday in a meeting of the last two Stanley Cup champions. 

Now, two things should be noted here, and they can’t be stressed enough. 

1. They’ve only played four games. 

2. All three of the Bruins’ losses have been by one goal. They’ve had some rough losses, but there have been no ugly blowout defeats.

Still, while it is certainly too early to start seriously worrying about what this season will hold for the black and gold, there is no denying that they have not yet hit their stride in the 2011-12 campaign. Here are a few reasons why.

The power play isn’t improved

As it got deeper and deeper into last season, it became increasingly clear that the weakest spot on a far-from-weak team was its power play. The B’s went 1-for-17 on the man advantage over the final seven games of the regular season, and it wasn’t until the very end of the postseason that it got better. The Bruins went a still-horrific 10-for-88 on the power play in the playoffs, with five of those goals coming in the Cup finals against the Canucks. 

Tomas Kaberle, who was supposed to be the power play quarterback when the B's acquired him, made minimal difference on the man advantage and was not brought back. Joe Corvo was acquired to replace him on the team’s power play, with the hope that his high reliance on his shot would spark the man advantage. No additional pieces were brought in for the power play.

So far, it’s been as bad as ever. The Bruins scored on their first power play of the season when Tyler Seguin hit Brad Marchand with a long pass from his own zone to set up the team’s lone goal in the season-opener, but the B’s have since gone 17 straight power plays without a goal to make them a dreadful 1-for-18 on the season. 

“We know we can create some more chances and scoring opportunities,” Zdeno Chara said of the Bruins’ power play. “We just have to do the little things right, but we have to outwork the four guys on the other side.”

On Wednesday, the Bruins found themselves on the power play five times (they’ve had at least five in three of their four games this season). Both units, including the top one without the injured David Krejci, had the occasional difficulty getting set up, and combined for just seven shots on their five power plays. They got as many shots on Cam Ward on the man advantage as they did on Bryan Allen the entire game, as the big defenseman blocked seven shots in the Hurricanes’ first victory of the season.

The offense is still figuring itself out

Wednesday night saw more signs of life from the first line’s wingers than Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic had showed in the first three games of the season, but it still hasn’t lived up to the high bar it set when Horton was establishing himself as a playoff hero. 

After having no points, just one shot on goal and zero registered hits through three games, the Horton of old seemed to show up Wednesday in Carolina. He played a littler meaner than he had been playing (he was more physical Wednesday but still has not recorded a hit), and his three shots on goal tripled his season total entering the game. Horton picked up his first point of the season when he assisted Seguin’s third-period goal. 

Seguin, filling in for Krejci, led all Bruins with four shots on goal while Lucic, like Horton, had three. The top line’s 10 shots on goal were the most it’s had this season. Whether Krejci will return for Friday’s game will determine whether Seguin gets another crack at centering the first line, but the second-year player certainly appeared capable of handling the work. With four points through four games, Seguin is tied with Marchand for the team lead.

The top line isn’t the only one with an equal amount of concern and intrigue, as the team’s third line still has some questions. One player to continue to watch in the early going is Benoit Pouliot. After looking decent in his first two games as a Bruin, the former fourth overall pick made his biggest push to stay in the lineup when his performance in Wednesday’s game ended up earning him some time on the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Marchand in the third period. Pouliot had a couple of takeaways in the first period, while fellow third-liner Jordan Caron looked good until he failed to handle the puck in front of Tim Thomas on a play on which Carolina scored.

Through four games, the B’s have scored eight goals and allowed seven.

The Stanley Cup has been everywhere

Not to repeat myself, but the Bruins have had what feels like a million (really two or three) ceremonies this season about something they did last season. Celebrating last season’s accomplishment at the banner-raising ceremony is one thing, but bringing the Cup to Gillette Stadium two games into the season is another. That’s why this road trip, even if it doesn’t yield wins (simple math says the best they can be is .500 on the two-city tour), is probably something they needed. 

Having the Cup everywhere also doesn’t help quiet talk about a Stanley Cup hangover. Claude Julien quipped after the first game that the party was over and that the proverbial champagne bottles were empty, but the city and the team’s current celebration of last spring’s accomplishment has been the equivalent of leaving a party with an empty bottle of champagne as a reminder of the festivities.

“I think we were on such a high from the last while with all the Stanley Cup stuff,” Marchand admitted after Wednesday’s loss. “We have to do a better job for being prepared for these games and having better starts.”