BOSTON – The Boston Bruins (20-16-1) hosted the Ottawa Senators (18-13-4) at the TD Garden last night. It was the fourth of a five-game homestand, but it also turned into the Bruins’ third straight loss. Another slow start hindered the Bruins, and a goalie pull and recurring penalty kill issues led Ottawa to a 6-2 victory on Sunday night. So, let’s dive into what went wrong for the Bruins.
Out of the gate, Ottawa opened the scoring. It took Drake Batherson 90 seconds, and highlights yet another problem the Bruins have been dealing with this season. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub has been tracking the times where the Bruins have allowed a goal on the first three shots of the night – yesterday was the 17th time in the 37-game campaign.
“It’s disappointing. It’s just right from the start,” Marco Sturm said after the game. “I thought [Ottawa] – yeah, they played a little bit earlier [on Saturday], but they traveled. I thought we were in the same boat today, but they came out flying, they came out skating, they had a lot of energy. They outworked us, right away, right from the first puck drop.”
The flying offense kept coming for the Senators. In front of Joonas Korpisalo’s net, Drake Batherson showed off his soccer skills by kicking the puck to Claude Giroux. The Senators followed that goal up with a power play goal, emphasizing the recent Bruins’ penalty kill struggles. The Bruins would allow two goals on the penalty kill tonight, raising the number to nine goals allowed in the past seven games.
Before the first period could close, David Pastrnak would get the Bruins on the board with a five-on-three power play goal. The Bruins went into the locker room down two, but showed brief signs of life after the Pastrnak goal.
“Well, first period we knew they were going to come hard, and I don’t think we were ready for it,” Joonas Korpisalo added after the game. “Trailing 3-1 after the first is not ideal.”
It is not ideal, especially with how the second period went. At the 6:44 mark of the second period, Tim Stutzle reclaimed Ottawa’s three-goal lead. Then, only 19 seconds later, Dylan Cozens ripped a shot from the point that flew by Joonas Korpisalo. That would end his night after 26:31.
“I didn’t really want to do that, but again, it was something I thought could maybe change a bit,” Marco Sturm said about pulling Korpisalo, “Korpi tried everything he possibly can, and we kind of let him hang.”
Sunday night was the first time that the Bruins pulled Joonas Korpisalo this season, and during his time as a Bruin. Also, Jeremy Swayman has now played in all of the Bruins’ last five games.
What Coach Sturm wanted when he made the change was exactly what he got, but it did not last. Charlie McAvoy, on his 28th birthday, fired a shot on frame. It pinballed through the traffic in front and slowly rolled behind Linus Ullmark to make it a three-goal game again. The Bruins had some momentum, but the goal was too little, too late.
Ottawa would get its sixth goal of the game less than three minutes later, and it came on the power play. The eighth goal of the night would close the scoring on Sunday night.
“They were just mentally sharper than us today,” Marco Sturm added. “I don’t know what they did and what we did during the day, but whatever they did, it worked.”
The third period did not feature any scoring, but did feature some aggression. The officials dished out 74 penalty minutes in the third period, 31 to the Bruins and 43 to the Senators. These two teams have met four times since October 27. With it being the last game of the season series, and the score being 6-2, it was a matter of time before frustration took over.
“Guys in this room hate losing, I think that’s what happened,” Nikita Zadorov said after the game. “It’s not where we want to be. We lost three at home; it was a big stretch for us. So, it’s definitely unacceptable from our side, and we’re just throwing emotions.”
In between the Bruins’ goalie change and McAvoy’s goal, Tanner Jeannot and Kurtis MacDermid dropped their gloves. The next period, MacDermid went for a second bout, this time with Mark Kastelic. Then, as the end of the game neared, it got really chippy. Nikita Zadorov and Dylan Cozens went at it, and then both were hit with a minor penalty plus 10-minute misconducts.
On the next play, Nick Jensen caught David Pastrnak on the wing with a slew-foot and threw him to the ice. Ridly Greig skated over to Pastrnak and started throwing punches. Jensen, Greig, and Pastrnak all received two-minute minor penalties and 10-minute misconducts.
“I think it’s just pride. We’re a pissed-off group,” said Charlie McAvoy. “This division and stuff, we needed those points, and we just didn’t play well enough tonight.”
The Bruins have had an action-packed schedule, but they are not the only team. The Senators hosted their first leg of a back-to-back and then traveled to Boston for the second leg. Boston hosted both games; they did not have to travel this weekend.
“Everybody’s doing it, so I’m not gonna say anything on that. These guys are on a back-to-back, too, and they came in and just played better than us tonight,” Charlie McAvoy said. “Everybody’s going through it. It’s a compact schedule, it’s not easy, but it’s the draw that everybody has.”
The Bruins have now lost their third straight game, all coming on home ice. This season has been filled with streaks for the Bruins from the beginning: a three-game win streak, followed by a six-game losing streak, and then a seven-game win streak brought the Bruins into November.
“We just got to get back to our identity. Battle hard, play together, bring back the energy. I don’t know if we had it today. The schedule is hard, but it’s hard for everyone,” Joonas Korpisalo said about getting out of this rut.
The Bruins got off to a slow start and struggled to find their identity against the Senators. Once that happened, the same issues prevailed, especially on the penalty kill. The Bruins found their game too little, too late, and expressed frustration as the game drew to a close.
After a 6-2 beatdown by the Senators, plagued with some of the same issues, the Bruins are turning the clock to Tuesday. The Bruins’ longtime rival, Montreal, comes to town for the final game before the holiday break. Tuesday night is a crucial time for the Bruins to respond. It gives them one more chance to get right and play to their identity before the Christmas break.