BSJ Game Report: Lightning 3, Bruins 2 - Boston relinquishes top seed after another slow start

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 loss to the Lightning in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES: 

Another slow start dooms Bruins from retaining top seed: In this upended playoff format, yes, the value of seeding — especially in terms of home-ice advantage — has largely been negated. 

But still, the optics that Boston — the lone NHL club to crack the 100-point threshold during the regular season — will no longer sit atop the leaderboard in the Eastern Conference is still a pretty discouraging sight.

Once again, the Bruins were unable to secure a point in round-robin action on Wednesday evening, as a slow start doomed Boston in what was ultimately a 3-2 loss to the Lightning at Scotiabank Arena. With the loss, the Bruins sit dead last in the round-robin standings with zero points through two outings, while Tampa Bay sits in first with four points.

Whereas Boston started out strong but gradually faded down the stretch in Sunday's loss to the Flyers, Wednesday was largely the opposite, with Bruce Cassidy's club sleepwalking through the opening 11 minutes of regulation — during which Tampa jumped ahead with a two-goal lead.

Both tallies were mostly self-inflicted, with a defensive breakdown allowing Brayden Point to knock home a rebound on a 3-on-2 rush into Boston's zone. Less than three minutes later, a too-many-men penalty against Boston allowed the Bolts to double their lead, with Victor Hedman's shot bouncing off of Alex Killorn's skates and past Tuukka Rask just 13 seconds into the man advantage.

Yes, to Boston's credit, they responded as the contest went on, with both Charlie McAvoy and Chris Wagner lighting the lamp in the second and third periods — with the mood of the contest shifting more and more toward a playoff bout as the minutes ticked away.

But Boston, in desperate need of at least a point in the standings by way of an overtime result, would come up short — as a poor line change and defensive miscue allowed Tyler Johnson to bury a second-chance puck past Rask at 18:33 in the final period of play.

Now, Boston — once the top dog in the East — is going to have to do a lot of scoreboard watching in the next few days, as a Washington victory on Thursday against the Flyers would just about lock the B's into the No. 4 seed going into the first official round of playoff action.

FOUR UP

Charlie McAvoy: McAvoy, like most of his teammates, had a slow start in this one, but the B’s top-pairing defenseman continued to get more assertive as the contest progressed. While the occasional knock against McAvoy is his willingness to defer on clear shooting lanes, he was active in the offensive zone on Wednesday — with one of his four attempts sailing past Andrei Vasilevskiy to get Boston on the board.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1291127113584644096

Chris Wagner: Don’t let the fourth line get hot. For the second game in a row, the line of Sean Kuraly, Chris Wagner and Joakim Nordstrom cashed in on a chance down low, with Wagner knocking home his second goal of round-robin play just 1:47 of into the third period. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1291134370250620929

Torey Krug: During a brutal first period, Krug was one of the few Bruins to take it upon himself to amp up the rest of the roster, opting to drop the gloves with Blake Coleman after objecting to a hit that the Tampa winger delivered to Brandon Carlo. Even if he wasn’t able to inflict much damage, Krug’s actions, especially given Boston’s current state at the top of the scrap, mattered much more than the actual fight itself. Krug was also one of the few Bruins that managed to regularly generate good looks in the O-zone, setting up McAvoy’s tally in the closing minutes of the second.

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Tuukka Rask: That rebound that led to Johnson’s go-ahead goal was a tough break, but Rask was still far from a net negative in this one, especially during most of Tampa’s sustained push in the third period. Rask, who finished with 32 saves in the loss, didn’t seem that rusty after sitting out of Sunday’s matchup against the Flyers. 

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THREE DOWN

Zdeno Chara: Months before Phase 4 play even began, Brad Marchand noted that older players would likely be behind the eight-ball when it came to getting back up to speed once playoff hockey resumed. Chara has unfortunately been one of those veterans that has looked a bit out of step — whether it be getting caught out on the ice on a too-many-men call or being out of position on the odd-man rush that led to Point's opening tally. 

Krejci Line: Even if Nick Ritchie’s snarl could come in handy during a physical playoff slate, it may not be with a line anchored by David Krejci. Once again, the second line failed to generate much of anything in the offensive zone, with Tampa holding the edge in shot attempts (12-7), shots on goal (8-4) and high-danger scoring chances (4-0) during the Ritchie-Krejci-Kuhlman line’s 11:12 of 5v5 TOI. The return of Ondrej Kase will help 

Bergeron Line: Yes, the Bergeron line took a step forward in this one — with David Pastrnak and his absurd 16 shot attempts leading the way. But still, it’s rather evident that the usual cohesion between Boston’s big guns up front still isn’t there. Boston is going to need Brad Marchand in particular to get rolling, with the club’s top left winger limited to one shot on goal in 19:53 of 5v5 ice time. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Ah yes, the good ol’ headbutt save from Tuukka Rask right here. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1291124384455970816

PARTING THOUGHTS

Boston’s second line was significantly lacking again on Wednesday, but a guy like Ritchie certainly has a place somewhere in this Bruins lineup, as he was ornery for most of the game and was more than willing to throw his weight around and get mixed up with the opposition after the whistle. Poor Ryan McDonagh can attest to that here. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1291128675484696578

This hit also dislodged one of Ritchie’s teeth, prompting the B’s power forward to scour the ice during the second intermission to recover the missing chiclet. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1291135387486883840

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will wrap up round-robin play on Sunday, with the B’s set to battle with the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is TBA. The Capitals opened round-robin play with a shootout loss against the Lightning on Monday, with Washington sitting third among the four top seed in the East with one point in the standings.