BSJ Game Report: Panthers 5, Bruins 4 (SO) - B’s cough up 4-goal lead in 3rd period en route to 4th straight loss

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-4 shootout loss to the Panthers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TOP TAKEAWAYS

B’s finally break through...: With a quick glance, one might think that the Bruins got off to another slow start on Tuesday night, with only seven shots on goal against Sergei Bobrovsky through the first 20 minutes. 

But the SOG counter did little to tell the story of an encouraging start for the Bruins, who controlled possession for most of the stanza with a 19-7 edge in shot attempts. While Bobrovsky was aided by eight blocked shots from the skaters in front of him, Boston managed to finally do some damage against the veteran netminder in the middle stanza — with David Pastrnak, Joakim Nordstrom, Anders Bjork and Zdeno Chara all lighting the lamp and chasing Bobrovsky from the game entering the third period.

After a miserable three-game losing stretch, Boston finally appeared to get over the hump against Florida, with tallies from the blue line, Bergeron Line, Kuraly Line and the power play giving the B’s plenty of breathing room going into the final 20 minutes of play. 

Well, it was good while it lasted. 

…..And fall on their face:

Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Bruins have posted a record of 274-16-21 when entering the third period with a lead. Well, until tonight — as the Panthers’ improbable 5-4 shootout victory has dropped that sterling record to 274-16-22. 

There’s not much that needs to be said about what transpired over the final 20 minutes of regulation, with a tally from Aaron Ekblad just 50 seconds into the stanza starting a disastrous sequence that snowballed into a four-goal comeback for the visiting Panthers. 

Add in a pair of power-play goals from Frank Vatrano and Mike Hoffman — along with a disastrous defensive breakdown on Keith Yandle’s equalizer with 1:39 left in regulation — and Boston found itself in the same spot it was in on Sunday against Philly, forcing to scrap for an additional point in overtime and in the shootout. 

And once again, Boston failed to muster much of anything in the extra period — concluding a miserable night at TD Garden with yet another shootout loss. Now mired in a four-game losing streak, one has to think that the B’s can’t get any lower than this. Then again, the Maple Leafs and Capitals await later this week. 

B’s lose Senyshyn: The injuries continue to pile up for the Bruins, as winger Zach Senyshyn logged just 17 seconds of ice time in the second period before limping down the tunnel. He did not return for the remainder of the game, with Boston ruling him out due to a lower-body injury.

It’s a tough hit for Senyshyn, who fit in rather well with the club since getting called up last week. While a revamped third line featuring Par Lindholm, Anders Bjork and Senyshyn only logged 4:39 of 5v5 ice time together, they were quite effective — with Boston holding a 5-1 edge in shot attempts during that stretch. 

With the likes of Jake DeBrusk, David Backes, Brett Ritchie still sidelined due to injury, Boston may have to make another call down to Providence if Senyshyn isn’t good to go for a big matchup on Friday against the Maple Leafs. 

FIVE DOWN: 

Penalty kill: After surrendering a pair of 5v4 tallies to the Red Wings last week, Boston’s penalty kill once again found itself on the ropes against the Panthers, who achieved their third-period comeback thanks to two strikes on the man advantage from Vatrano and Hoffman. Boston’s PK, once hovering around the top 5 in the league in terms of success rate, has now dropped to 12th place with a rate of 82.1%. 

Tuukka Rask: Red-hot to start the season, Rask has also looked mortal as of late, with the B’s netminder posting a save percentage of .868 over his last three outings, all losses. 

Charlie Coyle: He was far from the only one to commit an infraction like this, but Coyle, in particular, is going to get knocked for failing to land a shot on goal against Sam Montembeault from this Grade-A area of the ice. Boston’s inability to take quality shots when they were presented plagued the B’s all night, especially as the contest carried over into overtime. 

https://twitter.com/emarinofsky/status/1194442632182849537

Fourth Line: While Nordstrom managed to light the lamp in the second period, Boston’s fourth line had a night to forget, with calls against Wagner and Kuraly in the third leading to a pair of power-play strikes from Florida. That line was also out on the ice during Ekblad’s first-minute goal at the start of the period. Not good enough. 

Sergei Bobrovsky: Woooooof. It was another night to forget for Bobrovsky, who let up a number of soft tallies and now boasts a save percentage of .881 on the year. Don’t fret, Panthers fans — he’s only going to make $10 million a year through the 2025-26 season.

PLAY OF THE GAME: A no-look snipe? Bobrovsky never stood a chance on David Pastrnak’s 16th goal of the season. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1194425901850730496

PARTING THOUGHTS: TD Garden forget to pay its electric bill today? Talk about great timing, eh? 

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LOOKING AHEAD: The road is going to get tougher for the Bruins looking ahead, as Boston will travel up north to take on the Maple Leafs on Friday night. The B’s roster might currently be depleted due to injuries, but the Leafs are also in pretty rough shape. Even though John Tavares made his return to the lineup on November 5, Toronto lost another top-six winger just days later, as Mitch Marner will miss at least a month of game action due to an ankle injury.