The Bruins are finding new and painful ways to lose hockey games.
The B’s dropped their sixth in a row in a 2-1 overtime decision to the Calgary Flames at the Saddledome, losing what was a very winnable game.
With the final second ticking off the clock, Jonathan Aspirot took a minor high-sticking penalty when his stick rode up to clip Blake Coleman, putting the Flames on the power play to start the overtime.
The B’s had two good chances to win it on the shorthand, first on a breakaway by Pavel Zacha that Dustin Wolf stopped. Nikita Zadorov then had a follow-up that somehow stayed out.
Then, after the B’s had done a tremendous job on the kill, the Flames got a good bounce off a chop of Hampus Lindholm’s stick that bounced past Jeremy Swayman for the winner. Connor Zary was awarded the goal.
It was a brutal way to lose. The B’s had played an excellent defensive third period, allowing just one shot on net despite needing to kill two penalties. But these are the kind of games that go the wrong way when you’re in the kind of skid the B’s are in.
“These things are harder to get out of than just a normal win. I think we’re feeling that right now,” Sean Kuraly told reporters in Calgary. “We’ve just to stick with it. I think the message with each other is to stick with it. We’re going to get out of it. If we stick together, we will get out of it as soon as we possible can. It’s something we can build off tonight.”
The fatal infraction didn’t even have to happen, because there was no time left on the clock in the third period.
“I can’t get caught like that with my stick off the ice. Got a high stick there and it’s on me,” said Aspirot.
Said coach Marco Sturm: “It’s a tough one. There’s noting left on the clock and to take a penalty like that…we did a pretty good but we’ve got to know time it is and you have to control your stick. It’s just unfortunate.”
The loss matches their season-long at half a dozen and they’ll have to beat the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday if they don’t want to set a new season mark.
The GWG marked the ninth game out of their last 10 that the B’s have allowed a power-play goal. Though they actually killed much better than they in some previous games, they can’t take as many as they’re taking. They were dinged four times on Monday, all stick fouls. The B’s lead the league in penalty minutes (538) and minors (171).
“It’s commitment to checking with our legs,” said Andrew Peeke, who had the B’s lone goal. “There’s always going to be penalties in games, there’s no doubt about that, but the stick ones, we’ve just got to use our legs and be physical and use our body instead of stick in a lot of instances.”
After five straight losses, the B’s went into the game with a different look. Aspirot, out since Dec. 11 with an upper body injury, returned to play on a pairing with Lindholm while Peeke dropped to the third pairing with Mason Lohrei. The top line was also broken up, with David Pastrnak being moved to a line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, while Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm picked up Alex Steeves for another line.
For the second consecutive game, the B’s took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
After both teams had unsuccessful power plays earlier in the first period, Peeke picked up his fourth goal of the year with 1:54 left in the period on an ugly one. Lohrei made a nice play to keep the puck inside the zone along the blue line and dished it over to Peeke on the left side. With all sorts of room, Peeke took the puck deep and lost the puck but it bounced off his skate and through goalie Duston Wolf’s pads.
There was minimal contact from Peeke on Wolf, but Calgary coach Ryan Huska challenged for goalie interference. The goal was upheld and the B’s went on the power play.
They could not do anything with it, thanks in part to the officials missing an obvious too-many-men penalty. Not only did the B’s not get a 5-on-3 but the extra man on the play helped thwart a promising Bruin rush.
As was the case in Buffalo on Saturday, the B’s could not hold the lead in the second.
It was a disjointed period with both teams having difficulty in controlling the puck, but Calgary had the better of the chances, especially early. Swayman kept the Flames off the board early in the period when stoned Morgan Frost on a Grade A wrister from the mid-slot.
But Calgary did finally tie it up at 13:30 when Blake Coleman’s shot went through Charlie McAvoy and broke through Swayman to even the game.
That finally woke up the B’s and they flurried a bit, but they couldn’t cash in. Steeves had a great chance down low but could not get the puck over Wolf’s pad and then the Calgary netminder made a great backdoor save on Pastrnak.
The teams went into the third tied 1-1 while Calgary held a 17-15 shot advantage.
The B’s were airtight in the third, allowing only a dribbling shot on net and none on the two power plays they gave the Flames.
But with the clock all but killed and the teams readying themselves for the 3-on-3, Aspirot’s stick needlessly got high on Coleman and they could not survive it.
Sturm chose to look at the silver lining.
“It’s a point, a point on the road. We’ll take that anytime on the road,” said Sturm. “Did we want two? Yes. But again, I feel good about that point. These guys have been pretty good at home and good the last 10 games as well. We want to build off that. We have to. It’s a tough league and sometimes you have to start with the little things.”