As the clock wound down in the third period on Tuesday in Dallas, the Boston Bruins were clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Stars to close out their four-game road trip. They had the lead on goals from youngsters Matthew Poitras and James Hagens.
However, Dallas took advantage of a break when a shot from the slot was blocked by Charlie McAvoy, and the puck went to a wide-open Mikko Rantanen at the side of the net, and he buried his second goal of the game into an open net with over six minutes left to tie the game 2-2. The Black and Gold were that close to closing out a sixth straight win and sweeping their road trip after three wins against the California teams.
After the Stars tied the game, Boston head coach Marco Sturm decided to sit his younger players, Hagens and Poitras, as forwards and Frederic Brunet and Mason Lohrei on defense for the rest of regulation and overtime. It was a curious decision that Sturm really wasn't asked about with the game on the road. However, the question was asked more in depth by Scott McLaughlin of WEEI, and he got an interesting response from the second-year coach.
Marco Sturm addresses late-game decision to sit kids against Stars
Ahead of Thursday night's game against the Nashville Predators at the TD Garden, McLaughlin asked Sturm about his late-game decision, and the bench boss addressed it.
"Every coach does it,'' said Sturm. "It's tough with the young kids; you want to help them grow in getting into those situations. So if you've ever been in Dallas, it's one of the toughest buildings, and when they scored, there was a big change, right? So those are the moments where we are on our heels, and sometimes I have to protect my players and my young kids, and it's tough.''
It is a tough decision, and according to Sturm, points are at a premium, and getting one was better than getting none. Boston collected seven out of a possible eight points on that trip, which is a great trip. Mistakes are going to happen late in games, and his veterans made them in the extra session. Turnovers and a penalty to Pavel Zacha allowed the Stars to complete the comeback with Rantanen completing his hat trick with the game-winning goal in overtime.
I get the decision, but it wouldn't be a bigger issue if some of the veterans who Sturm trusted late in the gaem actually got some shots on net. The Black and Gold were held without a shot for the last 13 minutes of regulation and all of overtime. Sometimes tough love is the best way to learn by making mistakes, but on Tuesday night, one point in the standings was more important than anything else in Sturm's eyes.
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