The Boston Bruins were served their sixth-straight loss by the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night at the TD Garden, as the 7-5 loss was the product of poor game management when the game was on the line.
Despite recovering from a two-goal deficit to start the third period to make it a 5-5 game, the Bruins gave up what would become the game winner just 30 seconds after their equalizer. The Ducks then sealed their win with an empty-net goal.
“Those breakdowns in big moments, that can’t happen,” Head Coach Marco Sturm said after the loss. “Or losing battles in our own end, that can’t happen.”
Here are the game’s highlights:
First period:
Casey Mittelstadt got the Bruins on the board early, following up on a rebound at the far side off Pavel Zacha’s initial shot for his third of the season.
1-0 Bruins.
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Drew Helleson evened the game when he skated down to the low left-wing circle and his shot bounced off Charlie McAvoy’s skate and into the net.
1-1 game.
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Second period:
David Pastrnak set up Morgan Geekie in the high slot where he put a wrist shot past Petr Mrazek to take the lead.
2-1 Bruins.
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After a chance by Fraser Minten to extend the lead, the Ducks quickly tied the game after Jackson LaCombe found Cutter Gauthier skating into the high slot to get the equalizer past Joonas Korpisalo.
2-2 game.
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The Ducks then took the lead minutes later when the rebound from Nikita Nesterenko’s shot came out to Jacob Trouba low in the right-wing circle for a quick snap shot under Korpisalo’s glove.
3-2 Ducks.
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But the Bruins evened things up on the power play as Henri Jokiharju sent a pass to Mason Lohrei at the left point for a quick-release snap shot past Mrazek’s left skate.
3-3 game.
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Third period:
Early in the period, Troy Terry dangled not once, but twice before connecting with Mikael Granlund for the go-ahead goal.
4-3 Ducks.
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The Ducks cushioned their lead when Sam Colangelo found a bouncy puck out front and got his shot up high past Korpisalo.
5-3 Ducks.
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Things LOOKED like they were about to take a turn after Charlie McAvoy slid a pass to David Pastrnak who effortlessly sent a wrist shot under the crossbar and netted a power-play goal to close the scoring gap and make it a
5-4 game.
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And THEN 25 seconds later Geekie gets his second of the night to tie the game on a backhanded feed from Nikita Zadorov.
5-5 game.
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But just as fast as the Bruins made a comeback, the Ducks regained the lead 30 seconds later with a net-front goal by Terry.
6-5 Ducks.
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Granlund potted an empty netter to make the final score:
7-5 Ducks.
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Game notes
“Embarrassing” seemed to be a common word thrown around the locker room postgame, uttered from Sturm, Geekie and Korpisalo following the loss.
As the Bruins showed for the second straight game, they do have it in them to battle back after falling behind. But their game management has been a downfall to start this year and here they are on a six-game losing streak as mistakes begin to pile up lost points.
The Bruins, believe it or not, did start on time, scoring quickly and getting 18 shots on net. And a shoot-first mentality continued in the second where they spent a majority of the frame’s first half on the offensive. They even outshot the Ducks 32 to 18 through 40 minutes. But then the second period was laced with defensive problems and breakdowns and showed the Bruins continue to struggle on the backend when pressed. Sturm said postgame the B’s “kicked themselves” with some “bad shifts” despite a really good start.
Postgame soundbites: “When your under pressure, that’s where we struggled the most,” Strum said about the Ducks’ winning goal and if the team is having difficulties grasping the Bruins’ system. “Are we an elite team in this league? Probably not.”
Sturm said it’s challenging when the team was dialed in to start the year and now find themselves in a funk that they need to dig themselves out of.
Nesterenko picked up four assists on Anaheim’s end, a career-high in points for him. Granlund also had a career-high night registering five points.
There are always some silver linings, like the Bruins coming away with two power-play goals on both of their man-advantages and Geekie’s two-goal night. And while short-lived, the third-period comeback did breathe some life into the TD Garden.
The Bruins will face the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the TD Garden.
