Boston Bruins: 3 takeaways from 2-1 overtime loss to the Devils

2. Matt Grzelcyk struggled for the Boston Bruins.

After having a solid first game of the season for the Bruins on Thursday, Matt Grzelcyk struggled in this game. He was getting easily pushed around by bigger players and, although the stats don’t say it, turned the puck over in his own zone a few times leading to chances against.

Grizz needs to be better in his own zone, despite how well he might be playing offensively. He’s the most experienced left-shot defenseman the Black and Gold has and will be called upon quite often to play big minutes.

Although he struggled defensively, Grzelcyk played well in the O-zone, especially in overtime. He had a few really good scoring opportunities in OT but just couldn’t cash in. He finished the game with four shots on goal.

But back to his defense. Grzelcyk was one of the worst defensemen for the B’s today. As I previously stated, he had several bad turnovers. I specifically remember one he made earlier in the game where he was being hounded by a Devils player as he was skating around his own net. He ended up turning the puck over at the bottom of the right circle, leading to the Miles Wood goal.

On the game-winning goal by rookie Yegor Sharangovich, Grizz failed to effectively get back on defense after having his shot blocked from the right circle in the O-zone. Grzelcyk needs to get back, if he does this goal doesn’t happen and the game goes to a shootout.

Grzelcyk finished the game with 22:12 of ice time, two blocked shots, two penalty minutes, one takeaway, and a -2 plus/minus (+/-). NHL.com says he didn’t have a giveaway/turnover, but that just isn’t right.