BSJ Game Report: Flames 5, Bruins 2 - Sluggish effort dooms Bruins on home ice

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-2 loss to the Flames in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Sluggish play dooms B’s again: The Bruins might have shuffled up their roster ahead of Tuesday’s home matchup against Calgary, but the end result didn’t change all that much from Boston’s 9-3 beatdown at the hands of the Canucks on Saturday.  Sure, a 5-2 defeat against the Flames is a bit easier to stomach than the drubbing the B’s went through up in Vancouver — but the effort wasn’t all that much improved at TD Garden, as Boston dropped its second straight game in regulation for the first time since December 11-12. The same faults found in Saturday’s loss carried over on Tuesday: Sluggish O-zone play, poor puck possession, porous defensive layers — and far too many passengers. 

A shorthanded tally from Brad Marchand gave the Bruins life a 10:08 in the second period — a retort following Matthew Tkachuk’s opening goal 11:35 into the contest. But Boston struggled to generate much momentum following its PK strike, with Sean Monahan beating Tuukka Rask twice in the span of 1:12 later in the frame. 

A gritty goal from Chris Wagner with under seven minutes to go in regulation gave Boston some hope of another late rally, but a no-show performance from Boston’s middle-six gave Bruce Cassidy’s club little in terms of 5v5 ammunition. 

New Bruin Nick Ritchie was as-advertised as far as his power-forward reputation goes (seven hits in 14:17 of ice time), but Boston’s latest acquisition didn’t have much time to settle into a groove with any of his linemates — as Cassidy shuffled up both the Coyle and Krejci Lines throughout the night. Of the six Bruins that finished the night with a 5v5 shot share below 50%, it should come as little surprise that four of them (David Krejci, Ritchie, Charlie Coyle & Anders Bjork) constituted most of Boston’s middle-six grouping. 

With the loss, the Bruins fell to 39-13-12 on the season, and squandered another chance at extending their lead in the Atlantic Division — as Tampa Bay fell to the Maple Leafs, 4-3. 

TWO UP

Brad Marchand: Marchand was at it against on the PK on Tuesday, extending his already franchise record for shorthanded goals with his 27th career tally at 10:08 in the second period. Boston has now scored three shorthanded goals in its last six games.

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Chris Wagner: The Walpole native continues to heat up, scoring his second in as many games on Tuesday night off of a major scrum in front of Calgary’s net. It wasn’t pretty, but it was the kind of shift that Boston desperately needs from this bottom-six unit, which has struggled with consistency for extended stretches this season. However, Cassidy was quick to tab the Kuraly-Lindholm-Wagner line as his best forward trio on Tuesday night. 

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THREE DOWN

David Pastrnak: The NHL’s top goal scorer has made some major strides in his defensive game this season, but this weak shift in Boston’s own zone was a tough look, especially given that Sean Monahan buried an easy one-timer from the slot just seconds later. The Bruins failed to be strong on the puck for extended stretches on Tuesday — headlined by this defensive lapse.



Jake DeBrusk: It should come as no surprise that the Krejci line has once again fallen into a rut as soon as DeBrusk went cold in the offensive zone once again. With another goose egg on Tuesday, DeBrusk has now failed to produce a single point in his last eight games. The addition of Ondrej Kase as soon as Thursday should help get Krejci going, but a performance like Tuesday might have DeBrusk looking at bottom-six minutes if he doesn't snap out of this slump.

Coyle Line: Charlie Coyle's line has been on the strengths of the B's during this torrid stretch since the bye week, but the center was largely invisible on Tuesday — with the Flames tallying a pair of goals and outshooting Boston, 9-4, in Coyle's 12:40 of 5v5 ice time. One of his wingers in Ritchie also struggled to establish himself despite his seven hits — with the power forward failing to land a shot on goal and holding just a 40.00% shot share in his Bruins debut.

PLAY OF THE GAME

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PARTING THOUGHT

What can’t Patrice Bergeron do at this point? It was a nice moment ahead of puck drop on Tuesday, as the B’s held a pregame ceremony for Jaroslav Halak, who became the 74th goaltender in NHL history to play in 500 career games earlier this season. 

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LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their brief homestand on Thursday night, with Boston set to welcome in Tyler Seguin and the Stars. It’s projected to be a low-scoring affair, as Boston and Dallas rank first and third, respectively, in goals against per game. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.