Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 1-0 loss to the Nashville Predators in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Brad Marchand and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Averaging close to 20 minutes a night so far this season, Marchand was limited to 18:21 TOI during Saturday’s loss to the Predators — four minutes less than his linemate in Patrice Bergeron.
Why?
A combination of some horrendous on-ice officiating and some disappointing behavior from Marchand.
In the closing minutes of the first period, Marchand was whistled for a high stick against Nashville forward Colton Sissons — with the replay revealing that Marchand’s stick did not make contact with an embellishing Sissons.
As expected, Marchand was furious with the ruling, recreating Sissons’ over-the-top reaction and dropping to the ice. Marchand did the reaction again while getting ushered to the box by referee Marc Joannette — with Joannette promptly slapping Marchand with another minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and an additional 10-minute misconduct.
While Boston’s penalty kill neutralized both of Nashville’s power plays at the start of the second period, Marchand was not able to return to the ice until there was under five minutes remaining in the stanza.
Joannette had a rough night — ending with a questionable tripping call against
Steven Kampfer
later in the second period. Refs have to make bang-bang calls all the time, and mistakes do happen. Still, that’s a rough look to double down on a terrible call and take a dynamic forward off the ice for an extended stretch in a 1-0 game.
Still, a veteran forward like Marchand should know better to not show up a referee multiple times. Marchand is a key cog on a line that has accounted for 22 of the B’s 37 goals this year, and while he was stiffed on the high-sticking call, he needs to stay composed and avoid sitting in the penalty box or in the locker room for 14 minutes a night.
Jaroslav Halak impresses again
He was tagged with a regulation loss for the first time this season on Saturday, but Halak had no reason to hang his head after putting together another impressive showing against the top team, points-wise, in the NHL this season.
Halak finished with 39 saves on Saturday, with his lone blemish coming off of a fantastic individual effort from
Roman Josi
— and some puck watching from
Torey Krug
and
Danton Heinen
— at 14:49 in the first.
As he’s done all season long, Halak bailed out the Black and Gold during desperate stretches, including a point-blank stop on
Craig Smith
in the third after
Jeremy Lauzon
had his pocket picked in the B’s zone.
With four games in seven nights coming up for the Bruins, look for
Bruce Cassidy
to give both of his netminders in Halak and Tuukka Rask some starts during a busy stretch. But, with Halak posting a .973 save percentage over his past three games, there’s no doubting that the netminder is giving Boston a chance to win whenever he gets the call and is playing like a true No. 1.
TWO UP
Penalty k ill:
On a night in which Boston’s secondary scoring once again dried up and chances as a whole were kept to a minimum — Boston’s penalty kill played a big role in keeping things close, neutralizing all five of Nashville’s chances on the man advantage.
Despite all their early success this season, the Predators have not been world beaters on the power play this season, entering Saturday’s matchup with the 29th-ranked unit with a 13 percent success rate.
Still, the PK regulars like
Zdeno Chara
(6:11 SH TOI) and Bergeron kept Nashville in check — with the Predators only firing six shots on goal during their five stints on the power play.
Brandon Carlo:
Another encouraging outing from Carlo, who posted a 55.26 CF% in 17:21 of 5v5 TOI during Saturday’s matchup. During those heavy minutes, Carlo was out on the ice for five high-danger scoring chances for the Bruins, along with just one for the Predators. Even during 4:52 of shorthanded ice time, Carlo still posted a CF% 44.00 — a pretty solid number considering puck possession is usually out the window during a PK.
TWO DOWN
Third line:
It was another disappointing showing from Boston’s third line, with a mini-breakaway bid from
Joakim Nordstrom
off a faceoff being the lone prime chance for the trio. While Saturday marked the return of
David Backes
following a five-game absence, there wasn’t much of an impact for the line as a whole, with the group outshot, 11-3, over eight minutes of ice time in 5v5 play. Yikes.
Bruins power play:
For as good as Boston’s penalty kill was, the B’s power play was a stark contrast — with the Black and Gold failing to capitalize on four chances against a Nashville penalty kill that ranked 22nd in the league at 77.3 percent.
Already starving for scoring, the Bruins aren’t going to win many games when they only fire five shots on goal through eight minutes on the power play — including three total from Bergeron, Marchand,
David Pastrnak
and
Torey Krug.
TOP PLAY
LOOKING AHEAD:
After spending two games out on the road, the Bruins will return back to TD Garden for a four-game homestand, starting with a matchup against
Tyler Seguin
and the Dallas Stars on Monday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
