Playing in their fourth game in the last six days, I can't blame the Bruins (21-11-6) for losing this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center against the Flyers (19-15-6). Boston scored first and later tied it up at two but they eventually fell 3-2 as they closed the season series with Philadelphia with a more than solid 6-1-1 record. Rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (20 saves; 2-1) suffered the first loss of his NHL career as he made his third start in a row. This game meant a whole bunch to both clubs and their postseason aspirations but Philly understandably played like the more desperate group which makes sense because they entered outside the playoff picture. These two points pulled them within four points of the Bruins although Boston still has two games in hand over them.
B's center Patrice Bergeron (6 goals, 3 assists) has been on fire lately with a seven-game point-streak that he extended with a power play goal at 5:38 of the first period. Right wing Craig Smith and left wing Brad Marchand had the assists on Bergy's 16th goal of the season. He had set up in the slot and even though Smitty's pass was in his skates, he took his time to gather the puck and fire it past Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott (30 saves, 11-5-1). Philadelphia tied it at one as right wing Travis Konecny put in a juicy rebound from defensemen Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim. It was Konecny's ninth goal of the season and it came at 11:51 of the first period. The Flyers took their first lead when defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere tipped in a shot from Konecny at 17:46 for a power play tally. UNH's James van Riemsdyk added the second assist on Gostisbehere's seventh goal of the season.
Boston scored the lone goal of the second period as left wing Jake DeBrusk roofed a shot by Elliott at 11:45. Smith and BU's Charlie Coyle had the helpers on DeBrusk's fourth goal of the season. It's been a brutal season in terms of injuries for B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and unfortunately his bad luck continued as he left late in the second period with an upper-body injury and he never returned. Ugh. Philly center Sean Couturier scored the game-winning goal at 6:59 of the third period as Swayman got caught out of position leaving most of the net for Couturier to shoot at. His 12th goal of the season was assisted by BU's Joel Farabee and van Riemsdyk.
This hellacious stretch finally ends tomorrow night (7, NESN) for the Bruins as they host the Capitals (26-11-4) at the TD Garden. Boston is 2-1-1 so far this week which includes a 4-2 home win against Washington on Thursday. Washington is in a dead heat with the Islanders for first-place in the Eastern Division as both teams are eight points ahead of the Black and Gold although the Bruins have three games in hand over both of them. Boston is 3-0-2 meaning that they haven't lost yet in regulation vs. Washington in 2021. The other rookie goaltender Dan Vladar is a lock to get the start tomorrow since Swayman needs a break while Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak remain out with an injury and Covid-19 respectively.
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