The Bruins themselves thought that the NHL’s Christmas break was coming at a good time for the club. Whether it was physical or mental fatigue, the Bruins’ chance to simply catch their breath and get a reset was going to do them well.
But as Saturday in Buffalo told us, with the B’s winless skid hitting five (0-4-1) behind a 4-1 loss to the surging Sabres, things are going to have to get worse for Marco Sturm and the Bruins before they can get better.
And this was a contest truly lost in the second period of play, as the Bruins allowed three goals in a span 7:15. The Bruins failed to counterpunch at any point in the second period, too, as the club was outshot 13-2 in the middle frame.
Boston’s lone goal in the loss came in the first period, and off the stick of David Pastrnak for what was his 15th goal of the season.
In goal, the Bruins’ Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 of 30 shots faced in the loss. If you’re looking for any sort of positive in this contest, it definitely came from Korpisalo, as Saturday marked the first time this season that Korpisalo posted a single-game save percentage north of .900 in a losing effort.
On a lineup front, Mikey Eyssimont jumped back into action for the Black and Gold in place of the injured Tanner Jeannot. Eyssimont finished with one shot and one block in 8:58 of time on ice int he loss. Speaking before the game, Sturm did not have a timeline when it came to a potential Jeannot timeline just yet.
The Bruins will get back to work Monday night against the Flames in Calgary.