Against teams that are above them or level with them in the NHL standings, the Bruins still find themselves on the wrong end of things.

Despite having another two-goal lead against a Red Wings team that trailed the B’s by one point for second place in the Atlantic Division standings entering Sunday, the Black and Gold shot themselves in the foot again with defensive miscues and a few bad bounces. By the end, Tuukka Rask was pulled after allowing four unanswered goals, and Claude Julien’s squad fell short of their comeback effort — scoring two unanswered after Rask was pulled — in their 6-5 loss to their Original Six foes.

Here are a few things that we learned as the Bruins dropped the first game of their season-long six-game road trip.

Putting things in perspective

Aside from a sweep by the Oilers and a couple of wins from the lowly Sabres and Leafs, the Bruins, while often winning ugly, have taken care of business against the bottom feeding teams. Their record against teams that are either above them or level with them in the standings, however, is quite the opposite.

Since their win on January 8th against the Devils, the Bruins have not defeated a team that is in the top eight in the East or the West. To put another perspective on their struggles, Jack Edwards tweeted this nugget out after Sunday’s loss.

Since 12 Dec Bruins are now 2-6 v teams currently in playoffs (NJD in, PIT out today) and have been outscored 30-18 in those games.

— Jack Edwards (@RealJackEdwards) February 14, 2016

With Nashville and Dallas on the slate this week to close out the road trip — before that, a stop in Columbus — and 15 other games against teams currently in the top eight left on the schedule, the Bruins will need to find a way to steal a few victories down the stretch. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that they’ll be hitting the links come April.

Patrice Bergeron out again

Would the Bruins’ defensive issues exist if Bergeron (day-to-day, undisclosed injury) played? Maybe, maybe not. After all, the team gave up nine when Bergeron was in the lineup against the Kings earlier in the week.

The talent difference between the Kings and Red Wings though is quite deep. And one has to wonder if Bergeron could’ve helped stop the bleeding against Detroit.

From allowing goals off of faceoffs to being on the wrong end of a bounce (like Zach Trotman was on one of Darren Helm’s goals), to struggling to clear the zone and forcing Claude Julien to pull Tuukka Rask past the midway point of the second period, the Bruins defensive issues were again front and center.

Marchand, Loui, both continue their hot streaks

As the trade deadline looms, teams are getting a good look at Loui Eriksson as his days in Black and Gold are still unknown. Perhaps GM Don Sweeney is having second thoughts on keeping Eriksson as well. He’d have a good reason too, as Eriksson, who scored his 19th of the season, has tallied a goal in the first three games of the road trip. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Whether Eriksson is part of the core or not, Brad Marchand won’t be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. That is a good sign for Bruins fans as they continue to see Marchand set his own records while also making franchise history on Saturday.

Just eight seconds in, Marchand tallied his 28th of the season — his 13th goal in his last 13 games — setting a franchise record for the fastest goal to start a contest. His 28 goals — with 26 games remaining in the 2015-16 season — tie a career-high set in 2011-12

A pair of goals (and review and one non-review) go against Bruins

Shortly after Marchand’s tally, Henrik Zetterberg evened things up at 1-1. That goal was upheld after Claude Julien lost his coaches challenge where he questioned Justin Abdelkader being offsides. In its statement, the NHL deemed that there was not enough evidence to overturn the call, and the original ruling stood.

That wasn’t the only review — or in this instance, a non-review — that went against the Black and Gold. Later in the first, Pavel Datsyuk seemed to be a recipient of Abdelkader touching the puck with a high stick before notching the first of his two goals on the afternoon. Datsyuk’s tally cut the Bruins lead to 3-2 and gave the Wings some momentum heading into the first intermission.