If there's another team in the NHL that is up and down more than the Boston Bruins this year, good luck finding them. They lost six games in a row in almost every year imaginable, then they won seven in a row. Entering Anaheim on Wednesday night to play the Ducks, winners of eight of their last 10.
However, injuries are beginning to pile up for first-year head coach Marco Sturm and his staff, not something you want on a four-game road trip. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period and 3-1 in the second period, the Bruins rallied to tie the game in the third period on Morgan Geeki's second goal of the game on the power play.
During the Black and Gold's six-game losing streak, they would rally to tie games in the final period, only to lose late in the game and not secure any points. It happened again in Anaheim as the Ducks scored the game-winner late for a 4-3 win.
Marco Sturm not happy after Bruins loss to Ducks on late third-period goal
The writing was on the wall that it was going to happen again. Anaheim pinned the Bruins deep in their zone, but Joonas Korpisalo made some big saves. That was until a shot from the point deflected off Alex Steeves and by Korpisalo for a 4-3 Ducks victory. After the game, Sturm didn't beat around the bush about his team's effort late in the game.
“I don't care if you have twice the amount of shots or chances like that, but if you can't defend or don't want to defend, then you're gonna end up with a game like today,” Sturm told NESN.
“There was no reason actually to panic. But we had some just bad mistakes, especially in the last five, six minutes, right even before they scored the goal. We just have to manage it better, and we have to learn from it.”
The Bruins continue the trip in Los Angeles against the Kings on Friday night, hoping to finish out the game the way they did during their winning streak rather than their losing streak. Breaking bad habits can be challenging. The Bruins are finding that out.