The Bruins Close The Season Series Vs. The Flyers With Their First Loss In Regulation To Them In '21

 

    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. 

For The Second Time This Season, A Bruins Rookie Goalie-Jeremy Swayman-Won His NHL Debut

 

    With its top two goalies (Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak) unavailable due to an injury and Covid-19 respectively, and rookie Dan Vladar (2-1-1) taking a break after Monday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers (18-15-5), Boston turned to another rookie goaltender-Jeremy Swayman (40 saves)-to make his NHL debut this evening as they visited Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. At the age of 22, Swayman-who starred at the University of Maine-proved that he belonged at this level (in his 1st year as a pro!) as he battled for the 4-2 victory. Center Patrice Bergeron bagged his sixth career hat trick and left wing Brad Marchand scored his 29th career shorthanded goal and added three assists as the B's picked up one of their most important wins of the season. 

    It's just one game so I don't want to overreact too much but Vladar's first few promising starts and now this stellar debut by Swayman prove that Halak and even Rask should be on notice that their time here could come to a close sooner than many people would think if these talented youngsters continue to develop. Boston's hold on fourth-place in the East Division was fortified as they went up five points on the Flyers. The Rangers (18-15-5) destroyed the Penguins (24-13-2) 8-4 which allowed NY to pull into a tie with Philly leaving Pittsburgh only four points ahead of Boston while the B's have three games in hand on them. 

    It's tough to undersell Swayman's performance but please remember that the best Bruins defenseman by a mile-Charlie McAvoy-was ruled out during pregame skate with an upper-body injury. The Black and Gold improved to 6-0-1 against the Flyers with one meeting left this season (on Saturday afternoon right back in Philly). Bergeron staked them to a quick 2-0 lead as he scored twice in the first period. He put in his own rebound at 7:09, right wing Craig Smith and Marchand picked up the assists on his 13th goal of the season. Philadelphia's goaltender Carter Hart (22 saves, 8-10-4) has had a nightmare of a season and it's safe to say he'd like Bergeron's second goal back. It was a power play goal that came at 17:31 from right wing David Pastrnak and Marchand. Pasta passed to Bergy in the slot and his shot beat Hart five-hole. 

    Philly woke up in a big way in the second period as they outshot Boston 25-7 and they scored twice in quick succession to tie it at two. Right wing Jakub Voracek went to the net and redirected a pass by right wing Travis Konecny at 1:33 for his sixth goal of the season. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere-who recently went unclaimed on waivers (because of his massive salary)-made it 2-2 at 4:03 as he roofed a shot past Swayman. Voracek and defenseman Ivan Provorov had the assists on Gostisbehere's sixth goal of the season.  

    As usual, when it comes to a key moment or play in an important game, the Bruins turned to Marchand and Bergeron and they each delivered once again. Brad's shorthanded goal at 8:21 was a beauty as he skated on a 2-on-1 with defenseman Jeremy Lauzon who patiently waited until the perfect split second to dish it to Marchand who then deked and slid the puck under Hart. It was his team-leading 18th goal of the season with defenseman Connor Clifton notching the second assist. Boston was hanging on to its 3-2 advantage late in regulation when Bergeron scored an empty-netter to put it away at 19:37. Marchand and right wing Chris Wagner provided the assists on the vital insurance tally.

    Getting three out of a possible four points to begin this gauntlet of a week (5 games in 7 days) was a good way to open things for the B's. After traveling to DC, they are off tomorrow before they play at the Capital One Arena on Thursday (7, NESN). The Caps (25-10-4) lost 1-0 to the Islanders (25-10-4) tonight which left those teams in a dead heat atop the East Division. Boston is 2-0-2 against Washington thus far in 2021 and they also host them on Sunday night (7, NESN) in this jam-packed week. I have no idea which of the four goalies that I mentioned above will start next for the B's but honestly, does it really matter? I have faith in all of them and truth be told, I kind of want to see what the younger guys can do with some consistent starts vs. knowing exactly what we're getting with Rask (when he's healthy) and Halak (when he's at his best).