Bruins
Right here’s what we discovered from Boston’s 5-4 extra time loss in Tampa.
Jeremy Swayman put forth one other strong exhibiting, however the Boston Bruins couldn’t compensate for a way a lot they bought outplayed Monday evening.
The Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning traded blows within the third interval. However Boston couldn’t clear the puck from hurt when it mattered most, surrendering the tying aim within the closing seconds of the third and the game-winner early in extra time.
Tanner Jeannot opened the scoring, driving exhausting to the web following a defensive miscue. His tally was a microcosm of how the Bruins struggled to forestall rush probabilities within the first interval.
“I don’t know if the possibilities have been that totally different,” Jim Montgomery stated to NESN’s Andy Brickley. “I wager we ended up with extra high quality probabilities. We missed loads of alternatives within the second the place we had odd-man rushes. We simply didn’t go tape-to-tape or we didn’t wait lengthy sufficient to seek out the correct gap.”
The Bruins didn’t waste a lot time offering certainly one of their responses to Tampa’s tallies. Pavel Zacha buried a slick feed by fellow countryman David Pastrnak for Boston’s first equalizer 3:16 after Jeannot’s tally.
Regardless of Tampa’s 19-12 edge in pictures on web, the Bruins entered the primary intermission tied 1-1.
Down one heading into the final 20 minutes, Boston tallied two fast strikes from Pastrnak and John Beecher in a 1:21 span for its first lead of the evening. However the Lightning struck again, with Austin Watson netting the primary of two Tampa third-period equalizers simply 57 seconds later.
“There was some site visitors in entrance of me, to the appropriate facet,” Swayman instructed reporters. “It was a well-placed shot.”
Regardless of Tampa’s relentless stress, the Bruins discovered themselves on the cusp of their third straight win. With simply 3:51 remaining, Charlie Coyle cashed in on a nifty feed from James van Riemsdyk to regain Boston’s one-goal lead.
However Boston did not seal the deal in crunch time. Simply moments after killing off Beecher’s penalty and with the additional attacker nonetheless on the ice, Steven Stamkos fired residence one other tying marker with a little bit below 5 seconds left in regulation.
The Bruins regarded deflated after the last-second equalizer and barely touched the puck in extra time. Brandon Hagel put the ultimate nail in Boston’s coffin, sneaking behind the D and burying the winner on Swayman.
Right here’s what we discovered from Boston’s 5-4 extra time loss in Tampa.
Boston fails to shut out a back-and-forth third interval.
The B’s have been outplayed within the first interval however nonetheless discovered themselves tied at 1-1. They improved within the center 20 however trailed 2-1 coming into the third.
Amid Tampa’s relentless push, the Bruins capitalized on sufficient probabilities within the third to safe a pair of one-goal leads, solely to come back away with only one level on the finish.
“On the finish of the sport, we now have the puck on our stick,” Montgomery stated to Brickley. “You don’t put pucks up the center; you place them to the partitions while you’re in the midst of the ice. We can also’t depart the zone earlier than the puck has left.”
After Coyle’s late go-ahead-goal, the Bruins regarded like they’d pull one other proverbial rabbit out of the hat. The Bruins didn’t play their cleanest sport of the season however nonetheless cashed in on a handful of high quality scoring probabilities.
However Boston made its largest mistake of the evening within the waning seconds as Zacha did not clear the puck out of the zone. A well timed keep-in from Victor Hedman at Tampa’s attacking blue line allowed the Bolts to arrange their sequence for Stamkos’ tying tally.
“I believe we have to develop a little bit extra poise and understanding of time and rating and the right way to shut out video games,” Montgomery stated.
The Bruins battled the officers and themselves.
There have been quite a few situations – both calls or non-calls – the place the Bruins bought the brief finish of the stick.
Two non-calls in high-danger areas on Brad Marchand and Pastrnak headlined the evening of up-and-down officiating. A noticeably annoyed Bruins bunch didn’t assist themselves out within the second interval.
“What an incredible effort by our penalty kill to need to kill seven penalties,” Montgomery stated. “Fairly superb in a sport that was as shut because it was that we needed to kill seven penalties.”
Boston’s fixed chatter to the referees within the center body solely made the issue worse, because the parade to the penalty field continued briefly order. However Boston’s PK bailed them out, permitting only one aim in seven shorthanded conditions.
“We’ve bought the perfect penalty kill within the league,” Montgomery added. “Our gamers sacrifice for one another. It’s simply unlucky that we needed to kill that a lot.”
Beecher dedicated Boston’s remaining – and costliest – infraction of the evening, taking a high-sticking penalty with 2:20 left. The Lightning didn’t rating on the facility play however tied the sport simply 15 seconds after Beecher’s infraction had expired towards a drained set of Boston penalty killers.
Pastrnak’s playmaking skill continues to amaze.
Pastrnak’s third-period equalizer was fairly “classic David Pastrnak,” however his help on Zacha’s aim showcased his rising playmaking skillset.
Spotlight-reel assists like those in Buffalo final Tuesday and in Tampa Monday, in addition to Pastrnak’s assist-per-game tempo, present one other layer to his otherworldly expertise.
Together with his added playmaking contact, Pastrnak, who prolonged his level streak to seven video games on Monday, sits tied for second within the league in scoring with Vancouver’s J.T. Miller.
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