The Bruins held up well in front of Jeremy Swayman for the first forty minutes and gave the offensive team plenty of puck support. By the third, the Bruins were unable to match Vancouver’s urgency and were producing little to no attacking zone time.
The front of the net’s defensive coverage loosened up far too much for comfort. Every effort to move the puck out of danger and establish a transition seemed to be failing. The faceoff defeats mounted.
Unfortunately, a team from Vancouver, who had lost their previous four games and had been defeated 4-0 in Boston more than two weeks prior, struck again.
After a faceoff, Brock Boeser capitalized on several misunderstandings and Derek Forbort’s tardiness to get the Canucks within one at 12:49 of the last session.
With 1:11 left in regulation, Filip Hronek scored the game-tying goal through traffic after Boeser had set up a screen during a net-front duel with Brandon Carlo.
The Boston Bruins need to address more than just their needs at the trade deadline in order to resolve their chronic shutdown problems.
The Bruins lost a multi-goal lead in the third quarter of their recent four-game road trip for the second time. The Oilers overcame a three-goal deficit for one of their three equalizers on Wednesday night, but they were unable to complete their comeback attempt.
In Edmonton, Charlie McAvoy’s game-winning goal put an end to the bleeding. They gave up in the last 20 minutes and the extra session on SaturdayI
The Bruins had to go into overtime ten times this season after blowing a lead in the last 20 minutes on Saturday. The Bruins gave up a tie goal seven times in the final two minutes of regulation.
The Bruins, who are now atop the Atlantic Division standings, are racking up points with their overtime performances. Even though they are only one point ahead of the Panthers, they have managed to stay close to the top of the East by taking advantage of the NHL’s defective point system.
To be honest, the Bruins aren’t playing like a club that might win the Stanley Cup. If they have a good matchup, maybe they can win a couple of rounds. However, that assumes Don Sweeney, who has limited cap room, draft money, prospects, and other possible internal assets to deal with, can acquire the required defensive and center reinforcements at the trade deadline.
After March 8, their prospective postseason prospects will become somewhat more apparent. However, using outside solutions to make up for their physical and defensive shortcomings around the net won’t instantly fix their shutdown issues.
“You mean we haven’t performed well enough?” Montgomery disclosed to media. “Many points were lost. I must consider player utilization and the composition of the ice. I’m probably visiting the well far too frequently with the same players, as we already know.
Carlo told reporters, “I don’t think we played the right hockey in the third period.” From moving pucks north out of the defensive zone to moving pucks behind them and using the appropriate playmaking technique to kind of limit their opportunities. I believe we could have done a better job at it.
Just 1:09 into overtime, the Bruins committed a another mistake in judgment by playing too many men. Just 23 seconds later, Boeser tipped J.T. Miller’s shot past Swayman to seal the Canucks’ thrilling 3-2 comeback victory. n the second period, Jesper Boqvist and Danton Heinen led the Bruins to a 2-0 lead.