It took 36 games, but the Bruins finally cracked the goose egg in the ‘OTL’ column Saturday night with a 5-4 shootout loss. Now, normally, a shootout loss is nothing to lose your head over, especially given the way this team has been thirsty for a ‘loser point’ given the tightness of the Eastern Conference standings.
But the Bruins turned what was a winnable game into points left on the table, as the Bruins held a lead through two periods and dominated overtime with six shots on goal only to fall in the shootout. Boston’s shootout efforts were downright putrid, too, as the Bruins went a full 0-for-7 in the skills competition.
“We have to close games,” Bruins forward Pavel Zacha said following the defeat. “I think that’s what the good teams do, and we have to learn to do that. We’ve done it a couple of times, but we have to do it more consistently.”
Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…
3rd Star: Morgan Geekie
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 20: Morgan Geekie #39 of the Bruins smiles with Charlie McAvoy #73 after scoring against the Canucks during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
The Bruins finally broke out of their stretch of starting a game down early, and did so with a power-play bomb courtesy of winger Morgan Geekie.
Geekie’s tally was his 25th of the season, and actually his 50th goal of the 2025 calendar year, confirming this as a downright ridiculous year for his game. And in doing so, Geekie became the sixth Bruins player since 1970 to score at least 25 goals through the first 36 games of a season, and the first since David Pastrnak.
Geekie was also Boston’s most consistent scoring threat in this contest, and the B’s dominated the puck with No. 39 out there, with a 19-7 edge in shot attempts and 11-3 edge in shots with Geekie out there at five-on-five play.
2nd Star: Liam Öhgren
Dec 20, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) is congratulated after scoring a goal during the third period against the Bruins at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)
One of the returns in the Quinn Hughes trade, Liam Öhgren had what was undeniably his best game as a Canuck, with a goal, an assist, and the lone goal of the seven-round shootout for Vancouver.
1st Star: Linus Karlsson
oBOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 20: Linus Karlsson #94 of the Canucks is congratulated after scoring against the Bruins during the second period at TD Garden on December 20, 2025. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
I’m gonna be completely honest, when Linus Karlsson scored his first goal of the night, I went, “WHO!?” And then, naturally, he scored his second goal of the game.
That’s what made the difference in this one, really: Vancouver got really solid contributions from their bottom-six wingers.