Point is not really relevant since the Bruins didn't have any sub-.500 teams that made the playoffs.
Granted, it was a tough era because of playoff failures. But hardly "brutal". For brutal, see early 1960s. That was my intro to the Bruins.
It's always a matter of perspective, isn't it. Whatever word you want to use, the 1990s, especially the mid 90s were awful years. I don't think any of us want to see those days return, and they were bad days, irrespective of how tough it was to be a Bs fan in the 1960s