BSJ Game Report: Flyers 4, Bruins 1 — Bruins put forth another dud to open round-robin play

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-1 loss to the Flyers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES: 

The good news? The Bruins might have something in the new third line of Charlie Coyle, Anders Bjork and Karson Kuhlman — with the combination easily serving as the B’s most effective forward grouping during their round-robin opener against the Flyers Sunday evening. 

The bad news? Well … the Coyle line was easily the B’s most effective forward grouping during their round-robin opener against the Flyers Sunday evening. 

Just a few days removed from a listless showing against the Blue Jackets in an exhibition tilt, the Bruins were once again done in by a sluggish performance north of the border — as Philadelphia handed Boston a decisive 4-1 loss at Scotiabank Arena. 

Chris Wagner scored the lone goal for the Bruins, while Jaroslav Halak stopped 25 of the 29 shots that came his way. 

Poor puck management proved costly throughout Sunday’s matchup, with the Flyers’ final two tallies coming off of odd-man rushes against Halak. Philippe Myers’s goal at 18:59 was a backbreaker, with the defenseman wristing one home just eight seconds after Wagner made it a one-goal game in the closing minutes of the second period. 

But most of the consternation from the Bruins’ bench will like revolve around the team’s showing down the other end of the ice, with the club often failing to generate quality looks against Carter Hart. Yes, subpar ice conditions might not have done them any favors, especially for a roster that is at its best when moving the puck around and capitalizing off the extra pass, but Boston’s stubbornness when it came to making  orchestrating the perfect play backfired time and time again in this game, with Bruce Cassidy’s club generating just three high-danger scoring chances during 5v5 play, including zero over the final 20 minutes.

Boston’s big guns in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were key culprits in the club’s offensive woes, with the Bruins out-attempted (8-5), outshot (4-1) and outscored (1-0) in their 8:19 of 5v5 TOI together. 

The stakes during round-robin play may not be nearly as high as what teams are dealing with in the qualifying rounds, but Boston cannot continue to sleepwalk through crucial contests like these, especially with Tampa Bay next up on the docket. 

TWO UP:

Anders Bjork and the Bruins’ third line: The Bruins’ latest line combination of Bjork, Coyle and Kuhlman was a bright spot up front for Boston, especially during a first period in which Boston held a 6-0 edge in shots on goal and 8-1 advantage in scoring chances during their 3:25 of 5v5 ice time. Bjork in particular was impressive, using his speed to both excel as the F1 on the forecheck, while also generating chances on the rush. The 23-year-old winger, who could be pushed for playing time once Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase are cleared to return, also drew a pair of penalties in the contest. 

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Chris Wagner: The Bruins’ fourth line responded quickly after Cassidy opted to slot Sean Kuraly back in his usual spot at the pivot — with Wagner eventually tallying Boston’s opening goal of the postseason after banking a puck home in the closing minutes of the second period. The Kuraly line was the lone forward trio to generate more than one high-danger scoring chance as a unit on Sunday.

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FOUR DOWN:

Bergeron Line: Yes, the Bergeron line was consistently matched up against the likely Selke favorite in Sean Couturier throughout Sunday’s matchup. Still, if the Bruins are planning on orchestrating a deep playoff run, they’re going to need that top line to start landing punches against opposing top-six crews. Boston only landed one shot on goal against Hart during that line’s eight-plus minutes of 5v5 ice time isn’t going to cut it, especially for a roster that still has plenty of sorting out to do in the middle six. 

Power Play: Much like the 63-37-88 line during 5v5 play, the Bruins’ power play failed to execute for most of the evening — going 0-for-3 in the contest. The B’s final look in the closing minutes of the third period was particularly brutal, with Boston failing to land a single shot against Hart while attempting to claw back into the contest.

One play in particular was tough to stomach, with Pastrnak taking a feed from Krug and, instead of firing in a shot, — opting for a slap pass through bad ice that sailed out of Grade-A ice in a hurry. 

Brandon Carlo: There were a number of offenders when it came to Boston's multiple defensive breakdowns that led to opposing odd-man rushes on Sunday evening. But Carlo’s showing was perhaps the most surprising, as the normally sturdy presence on the blue line found himself on the wrong end of some costly sequences. While pinching up on a play, the puck hopped over Carlo’s stick in Boston’s zone, springing Philly on a 2-on-1 bid that ended with Laughton’s snipe. 

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Jaroslav Halak: Halak wasn’t exactly helped out by the number of breakdowns that occurred in front of him, but Cassidy noted that the B’s goalie — pressed into service with Tuukka Rask out due to illness — could have made an extra save or two on the night. 

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"Did he give up bad goals? No,” Cassidy said. “Did we need a few extra saves in this situation? Yes. ... I thought he was fine.”

PLAY OF THE GAME: He had a much quieter showing in this contest, but Jack Studnicka still managed to provide a couple of highlights in this contest — headlined by this backchecking effort that snuffed out a quality scoring chance from the Flyers in the first.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1290009854866673664

PARTING THOUGHTS: The Bruins dodged a bullet in the final minutes of the second period, as Matt Grzelcyk needed to exit the contest after a puck skipped up and struck him in the face. While he sported a few stitches upon returning at the start of the third, Grzelcyk still managed to log 17:03 of ice time in the loss. 

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LOOKING AHEAD: The Bruins will return to the ice on Wednesday evening, with the B’s set to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in their second round-robin matchup this week. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. The Bruins have a record of 1-2-1 against the Bolts this season — with their last meeting on March 7 featuring 94 total penalty minutes and five misconducts.