Tanking sounds like a great idea in the abstract. Sometimes, it’s even the right idea in practicality. At the trade deadline, the Bruins found themselves in a position where it was prudent for them to do just that.

But for those players and coaches left behind in the tank who are tasked to play out the string while management constructs their longer-range goal to restock the roster, things can get ugly.

That’s what the Bruins’ lost weekend in California was. And you can only hope that 10 more games of this doesn’t leave a bruise on the vaunted Bruins’ “culture” that already took a hit when captain Brad Marchand was shipped out of town.

The B’s lost both games in which, if we look at it from 30,000 feet, is not such a bad thing. More losses mean a better chance at a higher draft pick.

But losing can become a mindset and the way they lost games in San Jose and Los Angeles is still troubling, no matter how ravaged the roster has been with injuries and trades. On Saturday against the Sharks, they not only managed to lose to the worst team in the league, they coughed up the winning goal with less than four minutes to go in the game. What’s worse, they managed just one goal, handed to them by a Sharks gaffe, against the worst defensive team in the league.

Then came Sunday’s game against the hard, heavy playoff-bound Kings. That the B’s lost to them is not a surprise nor is it shameful. They were obviously overmatched.

But it certainly seemed like there were some frayed nerves within the room after the game. In the second period, Kings’ goalie Darcy Kuemper got bumped by Marat Khusnutdinov and Kuemper responded by grabbing Khusnutdinov by the neck and ripping his helmet off.

At the other end of the ice, Jeremy Swayman didn’t like what he saw and came to center ice, challenging Kuemper to a fight. Both would-be combatants got their gloves and blockers off before the officials ended it before they could even breathe on each other.

The Bruins had been putting forth a good effort to that point. They were trailing, 3-2, and still very much in the game. But within three minutes, Andrei Kuzmenko beat Swayman on a bad angle shot. Less than five minutes into the third period, Quinton Byfield beat him shortside to all but end the game.

Asked after the game if he appreciated Swayman coming to the defense of a teammate, Nikita Zadorov wanted no part of a what would have been a fun and goofy story line if the B’s were ensconced in a playoff spot as they usually are.

“Is that what it is?” asked Zadorov before issuing a “No comment.”

That can be interpreted a number of different ways. Charitably, it could have been just frustration after the team’s sixth straight loss from a player who thought he was signing on to a completely different experience last summer. To these eyes and ears, it had a “just stop the damn puck” tone to it.

And Swayman does indeed need to do more of that. He put a bullseye on his back in his fight to set the market for goaltenders last summer. He did just that, nailing down an eight-year, $66 million contract before ever being a true No. 1 goalie who takes the majority of the starts. While he has been partly a victim of a defense that is playing without its top two blueliners, Hampus Lindholm (out since Nov. 12) and Charlie McAvoy (out since the Four Nations Faceoff in February), Swayman has not been great, or even good, except on occasion. His goals against average is 3.12 and his save percentage is now down to .892.

To his credit, Swayman acknowledged his shortcomings after the LA loss.

“I owe these guys better. I owe a hell of a lot of people a lot better,” Swayman told reporters in LA after the loss.

It will take some time before the Bruins are a true Stanley Cup contender again, but they can compete for a playoff spot next year provided GM Don Sweeney does better in the free agent market than he did last summer. They’ve already got a superstar in Pastrnak and a top defenseman in McAvoy.

But no matter who signs to come here in July, the most important thing facing the franchise for the short- and long-term is to get Swayman right. Good goaltending can be taken for granted, until you don’t have it. It’s no coincidence that the B’s happen to be bottoming out in the same year that netminding has been subpar for the first time in recent memory.

There are other questions facing this team in the final 10 games, for which the club can only get partial answers. Can Casey Mittelstadt be the first-line center to feed David Pastrnak? Is Marat Khusnutdinov a top-six forward? Where does Fabian Lysell fit in the organization? How do you get the cuteness that works so well for Mason Lohrei (minus-30) in the offensive zone out of his game in the defensive zone? Is Elias Lindholm really a $7.75 million third-line center or can more be gotten out of him? And, of course, who are the real leaders for the next generation of Bruins’ hockey now that Marchand is gone?

The only thing that can be predicted for the next 10 games is more pain. It won’t be fun. But losing is part of the game plan right now. They can only hope that mindset doesn’t take hold.