Struggling Bruins fail to show up, lose 3-2 in overtime to Blues

At some point, as the confoundingly lifeless losses continue to mount for this Bruins team, you have to ask yourself a question that’s been nagging for a couple of weeks.

Is this just who the Bruins are?

After taking a one-goal lead in the first period on Saturday, the Bruins simply stopped playing and lost to the St. Louis Blues, 3-2, in overtime. Brayden Schenn scored at 2:53 of OT on a wrist shot from the left circle for winner at the Garden.

It was a well-deserved L for the B’s, who managed just 17 shots and minimal offensive zone team while they gave up 31 shots to a so-so at best Blues team.

After the first period, there was a barely a pulse.

“We didn’t have a lot of juice in the tank,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “I didn’t know why we didn’t. (Friday) we flew home. We stayed over in Dallas so that we would have proper sleep to enable us to have legs for today. We had legs in the first and it kind of fell off after that.”

The B’s may be technically .500 at 8-8-3, but they have just five regulation wins in in those 19 games. Their minus-17 goal differential is among the five worst in the NHL. They have the worst power play in the league. And for the final 40-plus minutes on Saturday, they looked like a team that is wracked with doubt.

“I think that’s a concern all the time when you’re a .500 team. It doesn’t matter what sport,” said Montgomery. “But our consistency and our puck pressure and our puck management has been something that’s been not very apparent consistently for us.”

Montgomery has tried just about everything. He’s yelled at and benched star players. He’s scratched underperforming depth players. On Saturday, the club brought up a couple of players from Providence. Nothing has gotten through consistently.

In the dressing room, players still espoused optimism.

“We have to grind through it and you have to take responsibility and yourselves accountable, hold each other accountable. And you know we’re going to get out of these little funks. They happen every year,” said Charlie Coyle. “Good teams find ways to put a stop too it quicker than other teams. But it takes everybody. And we just really, really have to buy in on playing a simple style of hockey. I know that’s a cliche word, but it works.”

Said Trent Frederic: “We’re trying to be positive. Guys are trying to have fun at the rink. The staff does a good job at that. I’d say there’s obviously some pressure. I don’t think the team’s having the year that was predicted and haven’t started like we have in the past. But it can turn around at any second. It won’t take much. We’re not that far away.”

After 19 games of this, that’s debatable.

The first period at first felt like a rerun of a lot of periods lately. The B’s got an early power play, they actually moved the puck OK (David Pastrnak hit a post) and they didn’t score.

Then, the Blues took the lead at 6:25, on a Radek Faksa deflection of a Scott Perunovich shot and the B’s were chasing the game yet again.

But it didn’t take long for the B’s to flip the score, thanks to a pair of goals from St. Louis boy Frederic, who has been stone cold all season but came to life against his hometown team for his second and third goals of the season.

After Joonas Korpisalo (28 saves) made two circus saves on Schenn to keep it a one-goal deficit, the B’s tied it up at 9:34. Georgii Merkulov was one or two players brought up from Providence (Riley Tufte was the other) and he picked up his first NHL point on the equalizer.

Merkulov, at the right side of the crease, made a nice redirection of a Charlie McAvoy pass on net. Jordan Binnington made a good pad save, but the rebound went right to Frederic at the top of the crease for the put-back.

It was Frederic’s first goal since the season opener.

Then at 12:12, a loose puck squirted out to a changing-on Mason Lohrei and he leaned into a slapper that Frederic tipped past Binnington.

But as has been a pattern for this Bruins’ team, they could not put the hammer down on their opponent. They played a dreadful second period and, if not for the capricious enforcement of goalie interference, they would have been tied going into the third period.

The Blues outshot the B’s, 9-4, in the second enjoyed an even greater territorial advantage and had a goal called back midway through the period. Oskar Sundqvist popped home a rebound off the end boards but it was immediately waved off for goalie interference. It was ruled Sundqvist had made enough contact with Korpisalo when he spun in the crease for the goal to come off the board.

The B’s continued to stand still in their own zone, so badly that with 6:17 remaining in the period,  Montgomery used his timeout. They managed to survive the period, but it didn’t fill anyone with much confidence going into the third period.

The B’s also lost Mark Kastelic early in the second period due to a lower body injury.

And at 9:18, the inevitable tying goal happened. The B’s lost several board battles before Faksa was able to send a centering pass from behind the net out front to an open Nathan Walker, who snapped home the equalizer from the slot.

In OT, Pastrnak had what looked like an empty net but had his shot blocked. And with 2:03 left in OT, Schenn ruined what had been a very good day for Korpisalo on a shot that he had a good chance of stopping.

It was not only a bad loss, but one that can no longer be considered an anomaly.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/9NUp8EI