B's Cap Off Shameful Day In The NHL By No-Showing In Gross 7-1 Blowout Gm 3 Loss Vs. TB

 

    At a time like this when our country literally seems to be falling apart more and more everyday due to many factors (the Covid-19 pandemic, racial unrest, senseless killings by police, a disgrace of a President, apocalyptic wildfires and hurricanes bearing down on California and the Gulf Coast respectively, etc.), it's hard to get too worked up about a sporting event. On the same day when the NBA rightfully paused its playoff action in their Orlando bubble, MLS, WNBA and MLB also chose to postpone some of their games but the lillywhite NHL carried on like nothing was happening around them. The easy move was to not play any of their playoff games this evening after what unfolded around them but nope, the Bruins and Lightning played in Toronto while the Avalanche and Stars took the ice later in Edmonton.

    The B's looked like a team that didn't want to be there either as they were embarrassed from start to finish in a humbling 7-1 loss in Game 3, their largest margin of defeat in the postseason since April 29, 1992 (9-3 loss at Buffalo in Game 6 of Division semifinal). The Lightning won their second game in roughly 24 hours to take a 2-1 series lead and totally flip the momentum. Jaroslav Halak got the start but he only lasted basically half the game (31:18) as he allowed four goals on 16 shots. Rookie goaltender Dan Vladar was put in the impossible position to make his NHL debut in relief of him and he predictably allowed three goals on 15 shots. 

    Tampa Bay's power play had been a disaster (2-for-20 in the bubble) but they turned that around in a major way going 3-for-6 this evening. Nikita Kucherov (goal, 3 assists) set a playoff career-high with four points while Harvard's Alex Killorn (2 goals, assist) tied his playoff career-high with three points. Everybody on the Lightning put up numbers as Mikhail Sergachev (goal, 2 assists) had his first multi-point playoff performance, Brayden Point (goal, 2 assists) added three points of his own while even nobodies like Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde each had a goal and an assist. Apparently Andrei Vasilevskiy (23 saves) was in attendance but you could have put a traffic cone in Tampa's net and it probably would make around the same amount of stops. 

    Boston was down 2-0 in the first period as Tampa Bay set a franchise record by scoring its pair of goals (Palat on the power play then Gourde) only 15 seconds apart. Both of those were frustrating too since Palat's shot deflected off Zdeno Chara then Gourde's came from a breakaway when a referee literally ran into Bruins rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon. The wheels started to come off for the B's in the second period as Sergachev scored on the man-advantage before Brad Marchand notched a power-play goal (his team-leading seventh goal of the playoffs) that was very similar to last night's skate/stick re-direct. That didn't slow down Tampa as Killorn bagged a power play goal of his own-causing Halak to mercifully get the rest of the night off-then Point had a breakaway vs. Vladar which surprise ended in a goal then Killorn tallied another goal as the Bruins defense was in shambles. 

    Kucherov got the last goal in garbage time, I mean early in the third period. If you were looking for positive signs of life from anybody in a B's jersey, Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug and David Krejci all showed plenty of understandable frustration as they tried to take it out by roughing up the Lightning when the outcome had long been decided. Every game in this series has been chippy and that will no doubt continue for as long as these pseudo-rivals line up against each other. 

    So where do we all go from here? Well besides hopefully waking up tomorrow and realizing that this has all been an extended national nightmare, we are then only left to assume that the prideful Bruins will show up on Friday night for Game 4 (7:30, USA Network) and at least submit a more satisfactory effort. Tampa is very good but they aren't unbeatable like it felt tonight while Boston is much better than this sorry effort would lead you to believe. I will call it a must-win for the Black and Gold too since they are not realistically going to win three straight games against the Lightning. Bigger picture for the club, it could be a defining moment for beloved players like Chara, Marchand, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, etc. who are likely making their last playoff run all together. No pressure or anything but yeah, Friday is a very important chapter in modern Bruins history. 

     

     

    

The NHL In October Doesn't Get More Exciting Than That 4-3 Shootout Loss for the B's to Tampa

No matter what time of the year it is (fall, winter or spring), you can always bet that whenever the Bruins (5-1-1) and Lightning (4-2-1) meet up, it is going to be a hell of a game. Yes, it was the end of a road trip for Tampa Bay and Halloween is still weeks away but tonight at TD Garden it felt like an Eastern Conference Final contest instead of game seven of the regular season for both clubs. Boston coughed up a pair of one-goal leads but also rallied late in the third period to tie it before a crazy (but scoreless) overtime followed by a four-round shootout. The Lightning came out on top 4-3 in this first of four meetings between arguably the two best teams in the Atlantic Division, maybe Eastern Conference and possibly the entire NHL.

The B's were going for a 3-0 start on their inaugural homestand of the season but Tampa had other plans. Boston's top line (all 3 goals) and power play (3-for-5) continued to produce at an incredible level but conversely, their secondary scoring not to mention quality scoring chances that they allowed continued to be real issues for them. Coming off a career-high four goals on Monday vs. Anaheim (5-2-0), Pasta picked right up where he left off with a power play strike at 9:34 of the first period for an early 1-0 Bruins lead. Bergeron found the loose puck and sent it over to him for his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Torey Krug had the secondary assist to what is guaranteed to be the NHL's first star of the week. Tampa Bay answered with the dictionary definition of a back-breaking (regular season) goal. With 0.8 seconds left in the opening frame, Brayden Point got behind Boston's defense and used a forehand shot to go top shelf on Tuukka Rask (33 saves, 3-0-1). His third goal of the season was assisted by Yanni Gourde and Victor Hedman.

Brad Marchand hit his second post of the contest in the second period before Tampa Bay made the unfortunate mistake of putting Boston's lethal power play unit back on the ice. This time Pastrnak was the playmaker as his pass towards the net was redirected in by Bergeron at 7:26 for the 2-1 advantage. Marchand had the second assist on Bergeron's second goal of the season. It didn't take long though for the Lightning to strike back (sorry) as Mathieu Joseph collected a rebound on the doorstep and put it in the net at 10:32 for his second goal of the season. Harvard's Alex Killorn and Eric Cernak had the helpers there.

In the third period, Tampa Bay took its first lead of the game at 15:13 as former BU star Kevin Shattenkirk's shot went through Zdeno Chara's giant legs and past a screened Rask. Already up to four goals on the season, Shattenkirk has gotten his Lightning career off to a very fast start. Steven Stamkos and Point had the assists on the go-ahead goal that left the Garden pretty quiet for a few moments. Somehow Tampa Bay made another mental error as Anthony Cirelli was called for tripping which led to the tying power play goal by Pastrnak. Andrei Vasilevskiy (34 saves, 4-1-0) was under siege and couldn't do anything to stop Pasta's quick release from in close and through a host of bodies. Marchand and Krug had the assists at 16:55.

Boston's first overtime of the season did not result in a goal but it continued the theme of end-to-end high level action. The B's outshot the Lightning 5-3 but Tampa Bay held on to get to the shootout. The first three shooters for both teams (Hedman, Charlie Coyle, Point, Pasta, Nikita Kucherov and Marchand) all failed to score before Stamkos finally beat Rask up high with a filthy shot. Jake DeBrusk had a chance to tie it with a shootout goal on his 23rd birthday but he flubbed his shot so no presents for him.

The schedule does no favors for the Black and Gold the next week as they go to Toronto (4-3-1) on Saturday night (7, NESN)-their first matchup since Game 7 of the first round last spring-then the Maple Leafs come here on Tuesday (7, NESN). The next game isn't until Saturday night (7, NESN) but it's another doozy as the Blues (3-1-3) return to the scene of their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. I would assume that Rask will play one of the Toronto games with Jaroslav Halak (2-1-0) getting the other. The Leafs have allowed twice as many goals as the Bruins this season (28-14) so this weekend is a good time for Boston's struggling second and third lines to get untracked and build their confidence back up.

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The B's Rallied From Two Goals Down, Only To Lose Gm 4 in OT After Blowing a Third Period Lead

To beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2018 playoff game, it requires a (cliche alert!) full 60-minute effort or in this case even longer than that. Boston did everything they could to tie up their series at two tonight at TD Garden but they still fell short as Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Girardi re-directed a pass from Harvard's Alex Killorn at 3:18 for a bitter 4-3 overtime victory. The Lightning took a commanding 3-1 series lead with the chance to end things on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC) at Amalie Arena. The B's were plagued by another atrocious start on their home ice-spotting Tampa a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the first period-but unlike Game 3, they were able to recover from that.

For the first time since Game 1, Boston actually led for a little while (6:20). Unfortunately, Tampa Bay wasn't a fan of that as Steven Stamkos tied it at three with a wicked one-timer at 12:56 of the third period. His third goal of the playoffs (2nd of the series/1st non-ENG) was assisted by J.T. Miller. The Bruins actually had a few nice shifts to start their first overtime session of the playoffs but they weren't able to cash any of them in. Like the rest of the Lightning goals in Game 4, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask (24 saves) couldn't do much to stop Girardi's goal. Killorn took the puck down the right side then threw a backhander in front of Boston's net where it deflected off Brian Gionta (no clue why he had a shift that early in OT) and then Girardi got his stick on it. Yanni Gourde had the second assist on Girardi's game-winning goal, extending his point streak to four games.

I wish I could pinpoint a reason why the B's got off to such miserable starts in Games 3 and 4, my best rationale is that they were too tight. Whatever the case may be, the Lightning are ready to go every time so you have to match that or else your season will be over on Sunday night. Rick Nash's turnover led to Brayden Point skating in and splitting both Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (how does that happen?) before beating Rask for his third goal of the postseason. Riley Nash was a healthy scratch along with Tommy Wingels and Danton Heinen, meaning that Ryan Donato, Gionta and Tim Schaller were in the lineup for Game 4. Rick's rough first period continued when he was called for a tripping penalty and then Chara put the puck over the glass in his own end for delay of game. Tampa Bay had a two-man advantage for 19 seconds which the Bruins were able to weather but they could do nothing to stop Nikita Kucherov's one-timer from Victor Hedman (4-game point streak) and Stamkos at 9:53.

It became a special teams game and Boston's top-ranked power play (in the playoffs) did its job by going 2-for-4. Their comeback fittingly began with a power play goal from David Pastrnak (5-game point streak) at 15:28 of the first period. It was an amazing bit of hand-eye coordination by Pasta since he was able to hit a floating puck out of mid-air before it dropped back to the ice. His sixth goal of the playoffs was assisted by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand (17th multiple-point playoff game). Trailing 2-1 after the first period, the B's were quickly able to tie it at two early in the second thanks to a power play goal by Patrice Bergeron (5-game point streak). His fifth goal of the postseason was assisted by Krug (7th career multiple-point playoff game).

The Bruins grabbed that 3-2 lead in the third period thanks to a brilliant play by their two best players: Marchand went up ice while they were shorthanded and threaded a pass to Bergeron (20th multiple-point playoff game) between two Lightning defenders that the center was able to deflect in for a beautiful goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 saves) had to be stunned since he hadn't seen his team trail in either Game 2 or 3. I hate to harp on the officials-who have been consistently awful all series-but that particular goal felt like some sort of justice for the Black and Gold since they were only shorthanded because of a bogus hooking call on Noel Acciari (big, strong Hedman flopped like an Italian soccer player). After that, basically everything went wrong for the B's as Krug appeared to suffer a serious ankle (or foot) injury after crashing into the boards and a no-call on Kucherov holding McAvoy which led to the Stamkos tying tally set the stage for the first ever playoff overtime game between these clubs.

So here we are, Krug left the Garden on crutches and in a walking boot therefore I doubt that he'll be available on Sunday. Get ready for Nick Holden trying to keep Boston's season alive! For real though, after such an unexpectedly fun and successful campaign for the Bruins, it would be a shame to see it end in five games in Tampa Bay. If I know the B's, I bet that they find a way to get it done in Game 5 only to return to TD Garden and lose in Game 6. Who knows? As you would expect, the numbers heading into Sunday are nothing but grim if you are a fan of Boston: they are 0-22 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail 3-1 and 7-15 in Game 5s in which they trail in a series 3-1. Conversely, Tampa Bay's small sample size is pretty solid: they are 4-0 in best-of-seven series when they lead 3-1 and 3-1 in Game 5s when leading a series 3-1. Boston is 1-5 when they allow the first goal this postseason while Tampa Bay is 6-1 when they score first so clearly whichever team strikes first on Sunday will likely be a key factor.

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The Bruins Have Picked the Wrong Time of the Year to Have a Season-High 4-Game Losing Streak

There is a reason that sequels rarely ever live up to the original: nobody prefers to see the same story, jokes, predictable ending, etc. Apparently the Bruins (38-30-6) don't subscribe to that common theory with movies as right now, they are heading into a tailspin that is eerily reminiscent of the springs of 2015 and 2016. With everything to play for, once again they fell flat on their already bruised faces, losing 6-3 tonight to Tampa Bay (35-29-9) who looked far more desperate to make the postseason despite an array of serious injuries up and down their talented roster. The crazy part about Boston's fourth straight regulation loss (a season-high) is that they actually led not once, not twice but thrice. That's right, of course their combined time in front of the Lightning was 2:43 which hardly seems humanly possible except it really happened before our own eyes.

Toronto (35-23-15) beat New Jersey (27-34-12) 4-2 tonight which means that the Leafs are now up three points on the Bruins with a game in hand. The B's are clinging to the second Wild Card spot in the East aka getting the honor of being swept by the top seed Washington (48-17-8) in the first round. After a scoreless first period that was akin to watching paint dry, things really got more interesting in the second as Boston kept scoring goals, only to be quickly answered by Tampa Bay every time. Special teams were a huge factor for the Bruins (in a positive way early then a negative manner later) as David Pastrnak opened the scoring with a power play goal at 1:33. His one-timer (32nd goal of the season) was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Spooner. Before the PA announcer had even said anything about that tally, Tampa Bay's Brayden Point put in a rebound at 2:17 for a 1-1 tie. Ondrej Palat and Jake Dotchin had the assists on his 13th goal of the season.

Boston started to take too many needless penalties but Zdeno Chara temporarily quelled that pain with a shorthanded goal at 7:50. It was the second shorthanded goal of his long, storied career (both coming this season) and eighth overall in this campaign, assisted by Riley Nash and Dominic Moore. Still on the power play, Tampa Bay tied it as their young star Nikita Kucherov hit a one-timer that might have gone wide of the net but it deflected in off of Tuukka Rask's (23 saves) back skate for his 35th goal of the season, assisted by Jonathan Drouin and the beast known as Victor Hedman. No worries, Nash tied gave the Bruins their final lead at 13:18 after Peter Budaj (28 saves) was way too slow to react on a wraparound attempt then to compound things, Nash's pass out front bounced in thanks to Hedman's skate. Nash's fifth goal of the season was assisted by Moore and Kevan Miller.

Tampa Bay was relentless from there as Anton Stralman roofed a shot over Rask's shortside to tie it one last time at 14:53. His third goal of the season was assisted by Palat and Point. You would think that the Bruins might finally react in the third period to their season slipping away but nope, they didn't one bit. In fact, it turned into a laugher as Drouin put one by Rask that he needs to save then Kucherov completed his third career hat trick with another power play goal and then an empty-netter that sent the Garden crowd all scurrying for the exit. No matter how many times head coach Bruce Cassidy or the players shoot it down, you can tell that the pressure (and wretched memories from the last 2 years) are starting to get to them at the worst possible time.

There are eight games left for the Bruins and only two of them are on the road. They face another playoff contender on Saturday (7, NESN) as they go to Brooklyn to take on the Islanders (34-26-12) who are two points back with two games in hand. Furthermore, New York is at Pittsburgh (46-17-9) tomorrow night so if the Isles can win that, they would go into Saturday's showdown with not only a chance to overtake the B's for the second Wild Card but it would also take Boston's control out of their own hands. Yeesh. Rask played in his 59th game of the season tonight and just like the last two collapses, he seems to be fading down the stretch (3-4-0 in his last 7 decisions) after playing with crappy backups year after year. That leaves the team in an impossible position because it's not like you are going to sit your franchise goaltender now. All we can hope is that they can put this recent malaise behind them starting this weekend. If not, well I'd rather not go to that rather dark place at this very moment.

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