Boston Bruins: Three takeaways and prime time woes

Not the best week for the Boston Bruins, but still far from the worst. The Bruins submitted two convincing wins, but their success was mostly overshadowed by the prime time loss on Saturday.

The Bruins entered the week on a three game losing streak (2 OT losses) on the road and ailing from injuries. They lost another defenseman to the injury bug as they finished up their road trip, but began to gain some traction with some inspired play against adversity as they came home.

That all came to a crashing halt at home on Saturday night against a familiar foe.

Bruins 4, Ottawa Senators 1

The Bruins wrapped up their disastrous road trip in Ottawa on Tuesday against the surprising Senators who are holding their own despite the departure of the franchise face. After three disheartening losses on the road during the previous week where the Bruins suffered significant injuries, they brought their best game to Ottawa.

Brad Marchand assumed alternate captain duties with David Backes out, and played like a proud leader who was deserving of the promotion. He not only flashed his fists when Zach Smith blindsided a defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, but 63 also showed some silky smooth skill with a dangle and dish to David Pastrnak.

Although it was an impressive win by the Bruins, it wasn’t all pretty. Rookie call-up, Urho Vaakanaien left the game after the first period and was later diagnosed with a concussion after taking an elbow to the head from Mark Borowiecki. Borowiecki would later be suspended one game for the hit. However, Vaakanainen is still sidelined for the Bruins.

Bruins 3, Philadelphia Flyers 0

The Bruins limped home for a tilt on Thursday with an underrated rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers were struggling to find their own footing on the season with an up and down start, but possess enough skill and power to keep any team on their toes.

However, the Bruins took the air out of the Flyers with contributions from the supporting cast. Jeremy Lauzon made his NHL debut due to the depleted depth on defense and he held his own. Zdeno Chara displayed an impressive performance as he netted two of the three goals. He blasted a shot past Elliot to open the scoring and then sealed the deal with an empty netter.

The middle goal was potted by Jake Debrusk – finally, some secondary scoring! Not to mention, the another stellar performance from Jaroslav Halak who submitted his second shutout of the season.

Montreal Canadiens 3, Bruins 0

The Bruins rolled into their Saturday primetime fight with the Montreal Canadiens feeling good considering despite the injuries to key components. The Canadiens were supposed to be rebuilding this season, but are off to a hot start under the Bruins’ former bench boss, Claude Julien.

The  Bruins started the game strong, but about halfway through the first period Brendan Gallagher beat Tuukka Rask with a soft shot from a bad angle. This wouldn’t have been too hard to swallow for the Bs, but Max Domi cleaned up the debris from a Canadiens rush just 81 seconds later to put the Habs up two.

Suddenly the Bruins were in a hole, which was ultimately too deep as the Bs couldn’t crack Claude Julien‘s shutdown shell that Boston knows all too well. The ugly game at the Garden finally finished following an empty net ping pong goal from Jordie Benn. The Bruins were shut out by their biggest enemy for their first home loss. To say this stings is an understatement.

Bruins – 3 Takeaways

1). We are eleven games into the Bruins’ season, which means it’s time for another goalie controversy. Tuukka Rask is 3-3 with a .902 save percentage and a cringeworthy 3.15 goals against average. On the other hand, Jaroslav Halak hasn’t lost in regulation posting a 3-0-2 record with a .945 save percentage and a 1.43 goals against average.

We saw what happened last season when Tuukka is challenged, but Anton Khudobin isn’t the same caliber goalie as Halak, so Rask’s job as the starter may be in real jeopardy this season.

2). Ryan Donato reappears. It may seem insignificant, but Ryan Donato seemed to be regressing from the potent scorer that burst onto the scene at the end of last season, so it is encouraging to see signs of that magic.

If there was any silver lining after Saturday’s forgettable loss, it was the pay of Donato. Donato showed jump and found the back of the net on a goal that would ultimately be called back due to a missed offsides, but hopefully he can build off his play and start showing why he pushed for a spot in the playoff lineup last April.

3). Two steps forward one step back. This phrase may apply to the Bruins record after this week, but giving up their first loss at home to enemy number one, the Montreal Canadiens is undeniably a big blow.

The Canadiens were unexpectedly making a push for first in the Atlantic Division when they are supposed to be rebuilding bottom dwellers. Given the injuries, a win against the Habs would have given a boost to a banged up Bruins team.

Let’s hope the loss doesn’t have the opposite effect and discourages the depleted Bs who can’t afford a tailspin heading into a week where they will showdown with the surging Carolina Hurricanes and a top Cup contender, the Nashville Predators.