Bruins’ glass half full

A loss is a loss is a loss. And, make no mistake, the Bruins did lose something tangible on Wednesday to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in a fashion that should not make them least bit happy.

But somewhere between the start that saw them fall into another multiple-goal and the end where they gave up the winning goal to Tyler Johnson with 1:27 remaining in regulation, the Bruins showed something that they hadn’t in their previous two games.

A pulse.

Yes, for long stretches of the B’s 3-2 loss to the Bolts at Scotiatbank Arena, they looked a little more like the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy in the regular season (that top seed is now out the window). They were able to manufacture enough emotion in the empty building to erase a 2-0 deficit and they answered the call physically.

They are still not as sharp as they are when they’re in Grade A form, but they’re getting better. While both their goals were scored off long distance shots – speaking to the simplicity with which they’d vowed to play – there were also some plays being being made. They were moving the puck around the offensive zone with some alacrity and, though they didn’t finish any tic-tac-toe plays, the B’s left the impression that they’re on the cusp of something good.

“It was a good effort,” said Patrice Bergeron. “Obviously not the start that you want, but after that I thought we took it to them and we had some pretty good looks and chances. When you tie the game up you want to give yourself a better chance to go into overtime. Not the result that you want, but it definitely felt more like it tonight.”

Bergeron assisted on Charlie McAvoy’s goal that cut the deficit in half late in the second by winning a faceoff back to Torey Krug. His line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak did not get on the board after that, but it appeared they were gaining a comfort level.

“We’ve got to keep communicating and keep improving and getting better,” said Bergeron. “Obviously we haven’t had a chance to play as a unit throughout camp and we knew it was going to take a little bit of time to get everything back but it’s up to us to keep talking and keep getting better.”

Another positive sign was that the B’s found their engagement level that had previously eluded them in the cavernous echo chamber. While down 2-0 later in the first period, Tampa’s Blake Coleman took an opportunistic run at Brandon Carlo and Carlo’s partner Torey Krug did not like it.

Krug went after the bigger Coleman and, though it wasn’t much of a fight, it sparked his team. McAvoy got the B’s to within one in the second period and then Chris Wagner tied the game by jamming home the loose change after Andrei Vasilevskiy could not hang on to a Zdeno Chara shot.

“That was great for us,” said McAvoy of Krug’s confrontation. “It was great to create that energy for us on the bench. Torey is a guy who takes on a leadership role without having a letter. He’s someone we know who always comes and competes. And at that point in the game being down two goals and for him to step up – it was a hit he didn’t appreciate – and fight and bring passion and emotion into the game was awesome for us to see, especially in this setting here where you have to create your own energy. I think he saw that as an opportunity and got our bench going. We always appreciate when we stand up for each other.”

But alas, this did not have the ending the B’s wanted, and it was a bugaboo that has been a constant theme in Toronto – puck management – that did them in. In the midst of a change, the B’s simply gave the puck away to the Bolts at the Tampa blue line and Johnson subsequently scored off a rebound of a Yanni Gourde shot and that was that.

“We had he puck on our stick with a minute and half to go, breaking out of our end and all of a sudden it’s coming back at us,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “That plagued us in the first two games and we have to clean that up.”

And now, after being the best team in the league by a large margin in the now-forgotten regular season, the B’s can have a seed no higher than third.

“That part sucks, I’m not going to lie to you,” said Cassidy. “But that’s the situation this year with the stoppage of play. We knew the rules going into it. We knew we’d lose a bit of the advantage we’d gained so we are where we are now. We’re just trying to win a hockey game now and get our game together for 60 minutes for whoever we play.”

The full 60 was not there on Wednesday. But for the first time since arriving in Toronto, it seemed like the B’s were building toward that.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2XvoA0e