BSJ Game Report: Ducks 4, Bruins 2 - A defensive meltdown

ANAHEIM -- Stop asking Bruce Cassidy about the makeshift lineups on a game-to-game, or shift-to-shift basis due to all the injuries. The coach doesn't want to talk about it during the Bruins' four-game losing skid. You can't blame him for that, either. However, he wasn't too pleased with the veteran defensive core after this loss. He didn't point the finger at individuals but made sure to criticize the entire group. The second and fourth goals for Anaheim were avoidable, but it appeared a lack of focus on both affected the outcome of this one for Boston.

"Listen, I'm not going to use (depleted lineup) as an excuse," Cassidy said. "We've got some young players up front, we know that, but at the back end and our goaltending, there's experience there. We've got to look at it, the two goalies, the six, seven defensemen other than Charlie (McAvoy), these guys have played in the league and they're going to have to carry the team a little bit here until we find our scoring, or until these young guys get comfortable playing on the road.

"That (defense) was a bit of an issue tonight and guys are going to have to take ownership of that. We've got some leaders back there and hopefully they take it to heart, because we could've been better back there. Sometimes you've got to win 2-1 and stay in the game. That part is experience. The top part of the lineup, we know we're missing our scorers, that's been well-documented, so I don't want to revisit it every night, to be honest with you."

On Anaheim's second tally, Zdeno Chara was turned around in front of Boston's net before the puck ended up in the corner. The Ducks' Josh Manson just threw a shot on net and it ricochetted off Chara's skate past Tuukka Rask to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 14:24 of the second period. It completely deflated the Bruins and they couldn't recover as the game began to spiral.

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It didn't help when Anaheim scored in the waning seconds of the second period for a 3-1 lead. Until the final few minutes of the second, the Bruins produced a solid period of hockey — they outshot the Ducks 15-3 and had a 4:30 zone time advantage — but it went for naught.

"We found our game in the second and it was one of our better periods most of the year," Cassidy said. "We basically gave up one chance and ended up two goals against. That's going to happen sometimes and there's not much you can do about it expect keep playing. If you stick with the program, stick with the process and play the right way it'll eventually go your way, or it should. It's about the only thing you can say about it. It wasn't quite enough and we needed a little more finish around their net."

Then the Ducks' fourth goal came after Corey Perry stripped Kevan Miller of the puck before Derek Grant scored only 2:35 into the final period. It was over.

"Part of me knew the guys would be a little bit deflated," admitted Cassidy. "We're a young group. We're a fragile group right now. We're not winning a lot of hockey games, so it's going to have an effect, but you've got to play through it. We need to be better if we're going to get back in the game and at the end of the day it wasn't."

The rest of what you need to know from the Bruins' loss to the Ducks Wednesday night at Honda Center, in quickie form:

TWO UP

Jake DeBrusk: After being a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career on Saturday against the Maple Leafs, the rookie forward responded with a much better effort against the Ducks. He needed to bring more energy, more focus, more drive and that's exactly what he was able to accomplish in the losing effort. He started on the fourth line but was moved up to the third with Riley Nash and Noel Acciari.

Danton Heinen: Even though he hasn't shown up on the score sheet, Heinen has been solid of late. He scored his third goal of the season against the Ducks, which was the end result of a relentless shift, along with DeBrusk and Nash. Heinen said he's happy with his game, but not pleased with the end results.

https://twitter.com/mkmolnar/status/931015686448734208

ONE DOWN

Kevan Miller: It's not often Miller finds himself in this category. Despite criticism by many fans, he has been solid on the back end and good in transition. However, his one miscue allowed Perry to snatch the puck from him and it turned into a goal. But, it was Corey Perry who made that play.

INJURY UPDATE

Not another one: Torey Krug exited the game late in the third period and did not return. Cassidy did not have an update after the game. If Krug is out for any amount of time, it would be demoralizing for this team that has already dealt with injuries to key players. "I don't know if it's serious or not," Cassidy said. "I honestly don't know."

CHIRPIN’ POINT

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Sent from above: Noel Acciari's first goal of the season couldn't have come at a better moment. It would have been better had the Bruins won, but his goal at 19:38 of the third period made him smile and cry all at the same time. It was a big deal for this reason: Acciari lost his best friend and former teammate, Drew Brown, who passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 25. Acciari still played on Saturday night against the Maple Leafs and admitted it was the "toughest game I have ever played." He was allowed a leave of absence from the team to attend the memorial services in Michigan and rejoined the team for the morning skate on Wednesday. It's been an emotional few days for Acciari and he finished it with a goal.

"I definitely had my angle looking down on me there," Acciari said. "He definitely helped me put that one in. I had a little luck there, so it was good -- special. It was nice to get it and the timing was very fitting."

Good for him because he deserved it.

UP NEXT

The Bruins will attempt to avoid a fifth-straight loss when they face the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Staples Center. It would be a shot in the arm if veteran forward David Krejci is able to return after missing 11 games with a back injury.