BSJ Game Report: Red Wings 6, Bruins 3 - Goalie issues, defensive breakdowns continue in another disappointing loss taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images

Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Red Wings 6, Bruins 3 - Goalie issues, defensive breakdowns continue in another disappointing loss

By Conor Ryan

Mar 31, 2019 • 11:21 pm

0comment-bubble

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 6-3 loss against the Red Wings in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis…

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bruins’ structure implodes: Whereas a lack of urgency and second-chance scoring bids doomed Boston in a disappointing loss to the Panthers on Saturday, Sunday’s 6-3 loss against the Red Wings might have been even worse — with a defensive implosion and another poor outing in net handing Boston its second straight loss.

For the first time in close to three weeks, Jaroslav Halak was dealt a loss after surrendering five goals on just 27 shots (.815 save percentage), while the bodies in front of him didn’t look much better — with missed coverages and slow adjustments in Boston’s own zone allowing a speedy Detroit crop of forwards to feast all night. Not what you want to see from a Bruins’ defense that has finally regained all of its regular starters on the blue line.

Still third overall in the NHL in team defense with just 2.58 goals allowed per game, Boston has fallen into a bit of a rut as of late when it comes keeping its structure within its own zone — with the club relinquishing a combined 18 goals in its last four games. A concerning trend that needs to be corrected in a hurry.

B’s are fortunate Maple Leafs are also limping: With Sunday’s loss, the Bruins have let four points slip right through their fingers this weekend — with both losses coming against a pair of teams with a combined record of 66-70-22. It’s a brutal time for the Bruins to hit a skid, especially with postseason hockey under two weeks away and home ice not yet locked up for a first-round matchup against the Maple Leafs.

Thankfully for the Bruins, the Leafs are also hitting a few bumps in the road at the same time — posting a record of 3-5-2 in their last 10 outings. Even with Boston failing to collect a single point on the weekend, the magic number for the Bruins to clinch home ice actually managed to drop from five points to three — as Toronto lost in regulation to the cellar-dwelling Senators on Saturday night. Yikes.

Even if the last couple of outings have been very concerning for the Bruins, Toronto’s lack of production during this same stretch has cut down on most of the drama surrounding playoff positioning.

TWO UP

Brad Marchand: While Detroit’s power play cashed in on two of its five chances during Sunday’s win, Marchand did make the Wings pay midway through the second period, teaming up with Patrice Bergeron on a 2-on-1 sequence that ended with a tally for the B’s winger. With that goal, Marchand is now Boston’s all-time leader in shorthanded strikes with 26 in his career.

David Krejci: Like most on the B’s roster Sunday night, Krejci was not immune from a couple of defensive lapses — but the pivot was also one of the few drivers on offense for Boston, especially during 5v5 play. Along with setting up Jake DeBrusk on the rush for the winger’s 25th goal of the season, Krejci also won a pair of puck battles during the sequence leading up David Backes’ seventh goal of the season.




THREE DOWN


Jaroslav Halak:
A night after
Tuukka Rask
was knocked for relinquishing three goals on 22 shots, Halak also labored in net for Boston — with the goalie tagged for five goals against over 27 shots. While poor defensive coverage didn’t help, much like Rask on Saturday, the B’s backup will want a few shots back, especially
Anthony Mantha’s
one-time goal with one second left in the opening stanza.


David Pastrnak:
While
Bruce Cassidy
propped Pastrnak back up on Boston’s top line in order to give his club at least one dominant trio — the winger was silent for most of the night. A minus-3 in the loss, Pastrnak and Boston’s top line were exposed in Boston’s own zone on numerous occasions, while the winger only managed a single shot on goal through the first 55 minutes of game action.


D-zone Coverage:
We could have included about seven or eight different skaters in our “down” category when it comes to Boston’s porous performance in its own zone on Sunday. We’ll just lump the whole club into this one, because whether it be a
Grzelcyk-Miller
pairing split by
Andreas Athanasiou
, unaccounted forwards hovering in Grade-A areas during shifts by the Bergeron line and many more miscues, it was a brutal night for all involved.


PLAY OF THE GAME


Marchand and Bergeron
are damn wizards on the penalty kill.




PARTING THOUGHT


He paid the price for dropping the gloves for
Luke Witkowski
, but props to
Noel Acciari
for answering the call and standing up for a teammate after Witkowski drilled
Joakim Nordstrom
into the boards.




LOOKING AHEAD


The Bruins will continue their three-game road trip on Tuesday when they travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. The Blue Jackets are currently slotted into the final Wild Card spot in the East, but they’ll be a desperate club on Tuesday, as Montreal is just a single point behind them in the standings.

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article