Unfortunately, fans know all too well that after the Bruins win, they have been known to ride the temporary high, letting their guard down in subsequent games, as they often underestimate their opponents. As we watched the Black and Gold's 3-2 victory at Saturday's Avalanche rematch, we noticed they had a short-lived celebratory period before falling to a devastatingly unexpected 7-2 loss against the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
During the Ottawa disappointment, Netminder Jeremy Swayman lowered his save percentage from his career .903 to this season's whopping .887 so far. In addition, defenseman Mason Lohrei had a couple of turnovers, one of which led to a Senators' goal.
Post-game following the Sens' Saturday slap in the face, defenseman Nikita Zadorov had some harsh words, which may have flipped the script as the B's headed into the Islanders match-up. "Obviously it's a slap in the face. We're Boston Bruins, that's unacceptable. So, we've got to come up (Tuesday) and then play the way we should, in front of our crowd. I think it's the best thing about this league. You have a game like that, but you can regroup tomorrow and then show who you are actually."
Marco Sturm's lineup decisions pay off against Islanders
Strum scratched both Swayman and Lohrei for the Islanders game on Tuesday, resulting in a 5-2 victory. The team pulled together during defenseman Jonathan Aspirot's NHL debut and lived up to Zadorov's words.
Alternate Captain David Pastrnak gushed following their most recent win, "The positivity after the first period was great. Not a surprise that we came up with the win because our mindset was there, and focus (was there) today."
If the boys can take that victorious mindset from Tuesday's success into Thursday's game, they could reverse the trajectory and begin to string together a winning streak. We know the team is clearly capable of being successful, but will they get out of their own minds and repeat a dominating performance against Buffalo on Thursday?