Reaction to the Bruins' 4-3 Shootout Loss to the Winnipeg Jets
(Photo Credit: https://www.deviantart.com/logan45699
As is happening far too often these days, mental errors cost the Boston Bruins a chance to grab two desperately needed points against Winnipeg on Tuesday night at TD Garden. The Bruins seemingly had the game in hand going into the third period, but two Kyle Connor goals saw them trailing by one heading into the last ten minutes of the game. Connor’s goals came thirty-four seconds apart (one on a sloppy line change, the other when some nifty Winnipeg passing kept Zdeno Chara from keeping track of Connor in front of the net), and seemed to take the life out of the Bruins. Give the Bruins credit though, as they battled back to tie it a little over five minutes later, on Patrice Bergeron’s second goal of the game. No one would score again in regulation, so the game continued into overtime, and eventually into a shootout, where the Bruins would ultimately fall to the lone goal of the shootout, scored by (you guessed it) Kyle Connor.
It’s a shame, too, because the Bruins looked really good through the first two periods. Aside from a power-play goal by Winnipeg’s Josh Morrisey, the B’s dominated play, getting goals from David Pastrnak (goal and two assists) and Bergeron to acquire their 2-1 lead (their other line-mate, Brad Marchand, provided three assists on the night). Bergeron’s group was clearly the Bruins’ best line (though Bergeron was the only member of the trio to have a +/- above even), making crisp passes and of course, scoring the home team’s only three goals of the night.
Going forward, it’s imperative that the Bruins keep their heads in the game, especially in the few minutes after taking the lead. Giving up a goal after getting one of their own has been their Achilles heel of late. Winning teams have the ability to step on the throats of their wounded opponents, and the team has not been able to do so in recent memory.
Additional Notes:
As has been happening lately, Jaroslav Halak (the effective starting goalie with Tuukka Rask on the shelf with a concussion) was just okay, stopping twenty-four of twenty-seven shots, giving him a mediocre .889 save percentage for the night. If this team is going to go anywhere, he’ll need to be better than that, even if Rask can make a speedy recovery. Tuukka is prone to fatigue, especially in the latter stages of the season, so the Bruins will need to count on Halak to play well when Rask needs a rest day. The way he’s been playing lately isn’t going to cut it.
The newly-formed line of Heinen-Frederic-Backes played well together, especially the reunited combination of Heinen and Backes. As Jack Edwards (play-by-play announcer for NESN) pointed out, those two players had some chemistry together in the stretch run last season, so hopefully they can make something of a third line which has otherwise been a disaster this year. As for Frederic, I didn’t much notice him until the second period, when he beat the absolute bag out of Brandon Tanev. Hopefully he can provide the grit that many Bruins fans have claimed is missing from this team.
Speaking of hopeful, it’s clear that the Bruins have hopes that Peter Cehlarik is the solution to the second line right-wing problem. As I wrote before the bye week, the Bruins desperately need someone to provide some scoring touch next to Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, and they are clearly optimistic that Cehlarik can be that guy. They did look dominant at points in the game tonight, but ultimately were unable to find the back of the net. I would guess that they’ll give Cehlarik roughly five more games to prove his merit before looking for help outside of the organization.
