FOXBOROUGH — The Bruins are in a jam.

They are coming off being routed, 5-1, in the Winter Classic. They have lost four of their last five games. They play Washington, the best team in the league, on Tuesday at TD Garden. Then they leave town for a five-game road trip.

David Krejci, sidelined the last two games with an injured right arm, could miss the entire stretch. Brad Marchand will not be back until Saturday against Ottawa, the team that inspired his bout of brainlessness last Tuesday.

So the last thing the Bruins can afford to do is let Friday’s outdoor result fester. Such messes are best left in the drain and forgotten.

“You’ve got to put these aside,’’ said coach Claude Julien, having ditched his Bill Belichick-inspired hoodie. “Things aren’t going to get any easier right now. I don’t know if we anticipate having anybody back for the next game yet or not. So we have to move on with what we have. When you have a lineup, you just have to tell yourself you need to be better, and we have to be better as a group.’’

Life without two of their four best forwards was not fun for the Bruins against the Canadiens. Patrice Bergeron was on an island in two ways. He was missing Marchand, his perpetual left wing. Bergeron didn’t have Krejci, his fellow 200-foot center, doing his usual heavy lifting on the shifts he didn’t take.

Julien, therefore, leaned on Bergeron hard. The No. 1 center played a season-high 23:30. It is not a sustainable workload, regardless of Bergeron’s talent and durability.

“We’re missing some key players,’’ Bergeron said. “We’ve always said we can’t use it as an excuse. We’re definitely not going to use that today. [Marchand’s] a big part of our team in all the facets that he plays and he does on the ice. But we have to do the job without them.’’

Krejci and Marchand cannot be replaced. Krejci is averaging 20:17 of ice time, most of any Bruins forward. He gives Bergeron a breather by taking on the second-best opposing center. He works the point alongside Torey Krug on the No. 1 power-play unit.

Marchand is an equally elite player. He does everything — grinds down other top lines, kills penalties, skates on the No. 2 PP unit — at high pace and skill. It is a myth that Marchand needs to play on the edge to succeed. His speed, skill, creativity, and physicality are assets that do not require cheap play to shine.

Teams lose great players all the time. Such is life in the NHL. The Canadiens did not enjoy being without Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher for 11 losses in 13 games preceding the Winter Classic.

Assuming their 5-1 result was not a one-game outlier, the Canadiens are moving in the right direction. Gallagher is back. Price is getting closer. Players such as Charles Hudon, Michael McCarron, and Dustin Tokarski have been returned to the AHL, where they belong.

The Bruins are sliding the other way. Injuries to critical components do not just rob their employer of their services. They elevate players who should be in lesser roles or out of the league altogether.

At best, Max Talbot is a fourth-liner. Talbot saw some third-line duty against Montreal. He got shredded. Talbot was on the ice for four goals against.

Frank Vatrano has been very good. But 33 games into his first pro season (23 with Boston, 10 with Providence), the East Longmeadow native has slammed into a wall. This is no surprise. It happens to most rookies.

This would be OK if the Bruins’ depth could shield players such as Talbot and Vatrano. But their depth is being tested. Alex Khokhlachev (6:01 of ice time against Montreal) submitted his semi-regular reminder that for now, he does not belong in the league. Seth Griffith (10:59) did not last long on the first line with Bergeron and Loui Eriksson. The Canadiens chewed up the Bruins’ third defense pairing of Joe Morrow and Kevan Miller.

The Bruins promptly returned Khokhlachev and Griffith to Providence on Saturday. Colin Miller, who was assigned to Providence on Thursday, went the other way on 95 North. Miller’s ability to get to the puck and get it out of the defensive zone is in demand. But for that to happen, Miller will have to gain his coach’s trust. Miller’s puck-moving touch did not prevent him from being a healthy scratch for two games prior to his AHL assignment.

It’s possible that David Pastrnak will help upon his return from the World Junior Championship. We’ll see. Pastrnak was not good before he fractured his left foot on Oct. 31. He’ll need time and reps — and will likely make mistakes — to acclimatize to NHL pace and structure.

So for now, the Bruins will do what they’ve always done in such situations: pack it in, tighten the reins, and pray like heck that Tuukka Rask can steal points. It did not work at Gillette Stadium.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.