Bruins Lose to Flyers, 3-2, in Overtime

Takeaways

• With Jaroslav Halak placed on the COVID-19 protocols and Tuukka Rask still working his way back from an injury, rookie Dan Vladar got his fourth start in the net for the Bruins and played well enough to get a win. He made 29 saves, including some big saves in regulation and in overtime. Before Sanheim beat him for the game-winning goal on a breakaway, he made a big pad save on Sanheim on the shift before. Cutting in alone, Sanheim tried to go right to left on Vladar, but the 6-foot-5 goalie used all of his big frame to stop the shot with his pad. Jeremy Swayman backed up Vladar.
• David Pastrnak had six goals in three games against the Flyers this season, with two hat tricks. Monday night, however, Philadelphia held him to just one assist, on Bergeron’s power play goal.
• Kuhlman got the Bruins on the board in the first period when his beautiful placed shot under the crossbar on Flyers’ goalie Brian Elliott. Charlie Coyle provided a perfect screen on Elliott, which allowed Kuhlman’s shot to find the back of the net. Boston got lucky as there should have been a tripping penalty called on the Philly clearing attempt, but no call was made, allowing Kuhlman to score.
• The Bruins were a blistering 9-for-17 entering the game on the man advantage against the Flyers this season but managed only Bergeron’s goal in two tries. Despite not scoring on the second power play, the Bruins had good puck possession and zone time. The PP is something they need to take advantage of in the final two games against Philadelphia.
• Jake DeBrusk returned to the lineup after 17 days and a bout with COVID-19. In 19 shifts, he had one shot on the net.
• Boston needs to take advantage of the defensive zone breakdowns of the Flyers. In the first period, Charlie McAvoy floated down the slot unmarked and hit the post with a wrist shot off a pass from Trent Frederic. There is a reason why Philly has a minus-22 in goal differential this season.

Notes

• Zach Senyshyn played just 7:38 on 12 shifts. It didn’t appear to be injury-related, but more than likely a message of some kind from coach Bruce Cassidy. Not good for someone looking to get bottom-six minutes.
• In what is becoming a common theme, Charlie McAvoy led the Bruins again with time-on-ice at 24:02, with three blocked shots and one dent on the right post after ripping a wrist shot off of it.
• Bergeron has a four-game point streak with his power play goal in the second period. He was looking to add to his stat line all night by leading the Bruins with six shots on the net. He also went 23-for-31 on faceoffs. Not bad.
• Philadelphia outshot the Bruins in the first period, 10-7, in the second period, 13-11, and in overtime, 4-1.  Boston held a 10-5 shot advantage in the third. It felt like the Bruins should have had more overtime shots as it felt like they had some good offensive zone time.
• The Bruins’ new first line of Craig Smith, Bergeron, and Brad Marchand combined for eight shots on the net. The second-line on Pasternak, David Krejci, and Nick Ritchie combined for eight. Ritchie had four, while Pasta had three.
• Flyers’ defensemen Ivan Provorov finished with a game-high 25:57 of time-on-ice on 32 shifts and had two assists, on both regulation goals. Still, despite his play, the Flyers’ defensive zone coverage leads a lot to be desired.

3 Stars of the Game

Travis Sanheim, Brian Elliott, and Patrice Bergeron were the three stars announced following the game by the league. Here are Causeway Crowd’s stars.

1. Dan Vladar

Despite suffering the loss in between the pipes, Vladar once again gave his team a chance to win the game with his play. Of the 29 saves, he robbed Travis Konecny and Sanheim in the second period with saves seconds apart. With the Bruins trailing 1-0 in the first period, Philadelphia nearly doubled their lead, but Vladar stoned Sanheim and Scott Laughton with two pad saves. His best save was in the second period when Justin Braun on a breakaway keeping the game tied.

2. Patrice Bergeron

Bergy led the Bruins in shots on the net, won 74-percent of his faceoffs, and redirected Pastrnak’s pass on the power play for a goal. Bergeron, Marchand, and Smith seems like a combination to keep together for a while longer.

3. Nick Ritchie

Ritchie had a couple of chances offensively but was stopped by Elliott. He finished with four shots on the net and four hits. He narrowly missed two deflections on the Bruins’ second power play at the doorstep. Like the first-line, the second-line is starting to get some chemistry and Ritchie has looked good in the last couple of games.

With the series shifting to Philadelphia tonight, the Bruins will look to somehow, someway, get two points in the standings before heading to Washington Thursday night.