Following Tuesday night’s 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Bruins lost consecutive games for the first time since January. It was their third loss in four games since returning from a five day early March break.
The skid has started to stir up some panic in the Bruins fanbase, not just for the losses themselves but the manner of how they came.
On Thursday night the B’s raced out to a 2-0 lead against Edmonton, but mostly sleepwalked afterward. The Oilers scored three unanswered goals, including one with five minutes left, to steal the victory. Connor McDavid was held off the scoresheet for just the seventh time all season but Boston wasn’t able to capitalize.
On Saturday, in front of a home matinee crowd, the Bruins gave up two goals to Detroit in the first five minutes. One was scored shorthanded and the other came from a player Detroit signed only week prior. Boston would go on to reverse their fortune from Thursday and claim the 3-2 win.
Due to a quirk in the schedule, Boston and Detroit played a college-style weekend home-and-home series, facing off in Detroit the next day. Detroit once again got on the Bruins early, and piled up a 4-0 lead in the second period. Matt Grzelcyk and David Pastrnak sparked a valiant comeback effort, but fell just short as the Red Wings escaped 5-3.
Tuesday was definitely one of the lower points in this sensational season for the B’s. Chicago reeled off four straight third period goals after Pavel Zacha put Boston up 3-2 early in the fame. Blackhawks fans took their opportunity to celebrate the win afterward.
Safe to say the Bruins are firmly in the Dog Days of March.
The wear and tear of an NHL season is going to show on most players after sixty-six games. It’s a rash decision to start scrambling for the panic button just because of a couple of bad nights. At the moment its not something to worry much about.
With the playoffs starting to crest over the horizon, perhaps a few of them have been looking ahead to April and wondering who they’ll face in the first round. There’s still some tough games left for the Bruins to reel in their focus and prepare for the Cup run.
Photo: Matt Marton / AP
