The Bruins Mostly Slept Through The First Two Periods Then Fell 3-2 in a Shootout With the Flyers

When the Bruins got out to such an incredible start to this regular season-an unexpected surprise since they went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in June-you had to know that they would hit a slide soon enough. Going winless (0-2-1) in three games probably doesn't qualify them for that mode quite yet but it's plain to see that they haven't been nearly the same team in their last few outings. Tonight, they let the Flyers (10-5-2) score twice in the first period then they rallied in the third to send it to overtime and finally a shootout where they eventually lost 3-2. BU one-and-done Joel Farabee (who was a 1st round pick for Philly) scored the lone shootout goal-his first ever in the NHL-to clinch the two points for the Flyers.

It's tough to spot any opponent in the NHL a two-goal lead but especially one like Philadelphia who has been hot lately (7-2-1 in their last 10 games). Did I mention that the Bruins had a grand total of 10 shots on goal through the first two periods combined? Yuck. The positive that they can take out of this up and down performance is that they earned a point and in head coach Bruce Cassidy's words "we found our game in the 3rd which is something to build on."

The Flyers had actually played last night in Toronto-a familiar 3-2 shootout victory for the visitors-so you would have expected them to be the team with skates full of cement and sandbags in their pants. Nope, Boston could only manage five shots on goal in the first period and five in the second before exploding for 17 in the third. Philadelphia's second forward line made it happen in the opening frame as talented right wing Travis Konecny put in a rebound past Jaroslav Halak (27 saves, 4-1-2) at 13:50. Left wing Oskar Lindblom (3 goals and 4 assists in his last 7 games) and center Sean Couturier (3 goals, 5 assists in his last 7 games) had the assists on Konecny's eighth goal of the season which tied him with Lindblom for the team lead. That tally didn't serve as any sort of a wake up call to the B's as defenseman Philippe Myers had way too much space to blast a shot off the post and in at 17:56. His third goal of the season was assisted by Konecny and Couturier.

The Bruins appeared to get on the board early in the second period when Connor Clifton went to the net and Par Lindholm eventually put the loose puck by Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (26 saves, 6:31). Clifton grazed Hart's leg pad as he went plus Lindholm pushed Hart's pad/the puck over the goal line which sadly you can't legally do. It was a bizarre play since there was never a whistle on the ice but everyone (coaches, players, the crowd, etc.) waited for that to happen but it never did. Halak kept his team in contention by stopping Flyers captain Claude Giroux's backhand attempt on a breakaway.

It took way too long but the Black and Gold finally looked like themselves for the first time since Wednesday in Montreal. They completely dominated the third period as Danton Heinen was the unlikely catalyst for the home team (who got booed off the ice after the 1st period). He collected a puck next to Hart, spun around on his forehand and hit the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Charlie Coyle and Zdeno Chara had the assists on Heinen's momentum-changing tally. Brad Marchand tied it up with an absolute snipe at 12:22. Matt Grzelcyk had the lone assist on Marchand's 11th goal of the season. Philly was falling apart like you read about as defenseman Ivan Provorov (who played a game-high 27:26) slashed David Pastrnak on a breakaway. Hart would have none of it though as he stopped Pastrnak's second career penalty shot (he made the other).

The Bruins were charged with a too many men on the ice penalty in overtime which is incredibly rare but it occurred with less than 22 seconds left in the extra session so they lived to tell about it. Boston is 0-1 in overtime this season and they dropped to 0-2 shootouts while Philadelphia went to OT for the sixth time this season (1-0 in OT and 3-2 in SO). The Flyers can't get enough of extra hockey since they have needed it in three straight contests and five of their last six games. Coyle, Marchand and Pastrnak were all stopped while Farabee converted on Philly's first shot and Giroux was stopped by Halak. Torey Krug didn't appear in OT or the shootout because he was dealing with an upper-body injury.

Boston's top-ranked power play was never heard from as they only got two chances on the night but nevertheless they couldn't convert on either one of them. On the other end, their penalty kill was flawless (2-for-2). The Bruins still haven't lost in regulation at the Garden (7-0-2) this season while the Flyers moved to .500 on the road (4-4-1). Military Appreciation Night is on Tuesday (7, NESN) as the Panthers (8-4-5) come to town. That is always a fantastic event so hopefully some of those numerous inspirational people that will be honored by the team can also serve as good luck charms as the Bruins try to get back untracked after a frustrating blip on the schedule.

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Ugh, Not Again: The Bruins Blow Another 3rd Period Lead & Lose 3-2 In Overtime to the Flyers

Right before their bye week, the Bruins (27-17-7) played like a team that was ready for a break. Since they have returned from nine days off, they have been the same team that cannot get out of its own way as they dropped to 1-2-3 in their last six games with a 3-2 overtime loss this evening to Philadelphia (22-23-6) at TD Garden. The Flyers have won six straight games including a pair against the Bruins eight days apart. Losing 4-3 to the Jets (33-16-2) in a shootout on Thursday also hurt but the gift point from that one combined with the point tonight meant that Boston pulled ahead of idle Montreal (28-18-5) for third-place in the Atlantic Division.

It started off as a nice performance for Boston's special teams as they scored a power play goal in the first period but it ended in flames as the Flyers scored a tying goal in the third period on the power play and then defenseman Travis Sanheim won it with a snipe on the power play in the extra session. Did I mention that Philadelphia entered with the worst power play in the NHL? Tuukka Rask (14-8-4) returned to action from his concussion and he made 38 saves so it's tough to pin this loss on him since his team was outshot 41-25 (28-15 in the last 2 periods and 5-0 in OT).

Boston's top line has not skipped a beat but just like earlier in the season, secondary scoring has become a major issue for the B's. David Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the contest as he slammed in a one-timer from Torey Krug. Brad Marchand (6-game point-streak) had the other helper on Pasta's 29th goal of the season. It feels like the Bruins have allowed way too many breakaways lately and that burned them as Claude Giroux got behind their defense and tied it up at 19:16 of the first period. Jakub Voracek had the lone assist on Giroux's 15th goal of the season.

With such elite stick skills not to mention plenty of speed, Pastrnak isn't known for getting too many greasy goals (ie. right in front of the net) yet there he was in the second period, tipping in Patrice Bergeron's shot past Flyers rookie goaltender Carter Hart (23 saves; 8-5-1). Zdeno Chara had the second assist on Pasta's 30th goal of the season. It's the third straight season that David has scored 30+ goals and he's the fastest Bruin to reach that mark since Cam Neely (30 goals in 27 games) way back in 1993-94. Pasta had 34 goals two years ago and 35 last season so I think it's a good bet that he'll surpass both of those marks and he has a very realistic shot at 40 for the first time in his NHL career.

I didn't think that it deserved a penalty let alone a penalty shot early in the third period but the referees disagreed as they awarded the latter to the immortal Scott Laughton after he got breathed on during a breakaway (or hooked by John Moore). Rask made it a moot point though with a blocker save on the penalty shot. Boston hadn't been called for a penalty all game until Sean Kuraly was nabbed for holding the stick later in the frame. Oskar Lindblom tied it at two with a power play goal that ticked off of Kevan Miller in front of Rask at 10:36. Voracek and Sanheim assisted on Lindblom's seventh goal of the season.

Take your pick which is the more depressing stat: the Flyers were 1-20-3 when trailing after two periods this season or the fact that they were 1-6 in overtime? Philly always seems to go on these crazy win streaks at various points of every campaign but then again, they are just as liable to lose six games in a row. Marchand was called for tripping in overtime and he was one second away from stepping back on the ice when Sanheim ripped in his fifth goal of the season at 2:56. Sean Couturier (who was 16-7, 70% on faceoffs) and Travis Konecny had the assists on Sanheim's memorable tally in his 100th NHL game. For the Bruins, it was David Backes' 900th NHL game and Brandon Carlo's 200th.

No practice for the B's tomorrow as they try to regroup mentally. They'll be back on the ice for practice on Saturday morning before flying out to our nation's capital. They play Washington (27-17-6) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC), a nice appetizer before Celtics-Thunder and Super Bowl LIII (Patriots vs. Rams) later that night. Boston has lost roughly 54 consecutive games to the Capitals so I would say that they are long overdue for two points against the defending champs. What better way to get out of this rut than by clearing that hurdle that has dogged them for years now ? Boston returns to its home ice next Tuesday (7, NESN) vs. the Islanders (29-15-5) who lead the Metropolitan Division and have the second best record in the Eastern Conference. Who saw that coming?

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