Bruins comeback against Flyers falls short in shootout

A hapless effort in Detroit on Friday night from the Bruins was followed up by a similarly lackluster start against the Flyers on Sunday.

This time, they responded late, but couldn’t finish it off.

The Bruins went down by a pair in the first and managed only six shots on net until well into the second period before scoring twice in the third to force overtime and salvage a point. But a point is all the Bruins earned, falling in a shootout for 3-2 loss.

None of the Bruins skaters scored in the shootout, with the Flyers’ Joel Farabee scoring in the first round to win it.

With the Flyers on the second night of a back-to-back after a shootout with the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the Bruins had their legs in the third and took advantage of their opponent’s weariness.

Early, it was all Flyers. Travis Konecny buried his team-leading eighth goal with 6:10 left in the frame for their initial lead.

On a 4-on-1 following a Bruins defensive breakdown, Konecny potted a rebound from an Oscar Lindblom shot to put the Flyers ahead 1-0. Philadelphia outshot the Bruins 13-3 in the opening 14-plus minutes, and while the Bruins had offensive zone time, couldn’t get organized enough to get attempts on net.

That turned into a 14-5 advantage for the Flyers by the end of the first, and they headed into the first break after doubling their lead.

Phillippe Myers blasted in his third goal of the season with 17:56 gone to go ahead 2-0. He was parked at the bottom of the right circle and took a pass from Konecny and rifled it past Jaroslav Halak.

The Bruins thought they caught a break early in the second, but for the fifth time this season had a goal called the other way.

Just 2:50 into the second, Connor Clifton crashed the net and the puck slid to the left of Flyers goalie Carter Hart. Par Lindholm punched in the puck, and the Bruins reacted as if they had scored, but it was ruled no goal on the ice. The Situation Room in Toronto initiated a replay, since the puck crossed the goal line, but the official told them it was ruled no goal due to goalie interference from Clifton’s stick catching Hart’s pads.

The Bruins had just seven shots on net with less than seven minutes left in the period, and ended the middle frame being doubled up in shots, 20-10.

They steadily picked up offensive chances leading into the third, and Danton Heinen finally took advantage posting up in front of Hart 5:59 into the period. He flipped around a backhander off a centering attempt from Charlie Coyle, and it became a one-goal game, avoiding being shut out for the first time this season.

With 7:38 left, the Bruins made it a new game.

Brad Marchand took a pass from Matt Grzelcyk on the blue line and fired in a shot from the bottom of the left circle for a 2-2 contest, and a completely new energy.

David Pastrnak had a penalty shot with a chance to give the Bruins their first lead of the night with 4:56 left, but skated wide of the net and Hart had plenty of room to block off space and make the save.

The Bruins took a too many men penalty with 21 seconds left in overtime, but the Flyers only got one shot off before it went to the shootout.

Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand were both stopped, but a Joel Farabee goal in the first round forced Pastrnak’s attempt to be a must-score, and he missed on his second chance of the night.

The Bruins face the Panthers at home on Tuesday night.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2NAryMr