BSJ Game Report: Flyers 3, Bruins 2 (OT) - Vladar's strong game not enough

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

Box Score

HEADLINES

If the Bruins are going to pile on points in a pivotal week against both the Capitals and the club nipping at their heels in the fifth-place Flyers, they're going to have to put a lot of faith in their goaltending rotation of the future.

And even though Dan Vladar stood tall throughout Monday's matchup against the Flyers, it wasn't enough to secure a valuable two points in the standings — as Philly rallied back from a one-goal deficit in the third period en route to an eventual 3-2 overtime victory for the visitors.

Karson Kuhlman and Patrice Bergeron both scored for the Bruins — who fall to 19-10-6 on the season. Vladar — who, as of right now is Boston's No. 1 netminder with both Tuukka Rask (upper-body) and Jaroslav Halak  (COVID protocols) currently on the shelf — stopped 29 of the 32 shots that came his way.

Boston only managed to land seven shots on goal in the first period, but Kuhlman said the most of his attempt — firing an absolute laser past Philly goalie Brian Elliot at 17:33 to erase a Philly lead generated off of a Travis Konecny tally.

A late power play at the end of the first period led to fruitful results in the following frame, with strong blue-line work from Matt Grzelcyk and a crisp feed from David Pastrnak generating a power-play strike from Patrice Bergeron to give the B's their first lead of the evening 46 seconds into the second.

Boston remained in front until 6:56 in the third, when a costly holding penalty against Jeremy Lauzon gifted Philly a power play that eventually led to the equalizer from Sean Couturier.

After regulation play could not determine a winner, Travis Sanheim handed Philly the win — blocking a blue-line shot by Bergeron and taking it down the other end of the ice (past the stumbling B's captain) before beating Vladar with a nifty set of moves for the victory.

With the win, the Flyers sit just three points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division.

https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers/status/1379249264702947329

THREE UP

Dan Vladar: Boston's goaltending situation is far from ideal right now, but Vladar is doing everything he can to keep this team afloat. Boston likely would have finished with zero points against the Flyers had it not been for a number of standout saves from Vladar, especially a pair of absurd back-to-back stops on a Philly power play in the second period.

Patrice Bergeron: With his power-play tally in the second period, Bergeron surpassed Rick Middleton for fourth place on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list. Bergeron currently sits at 899 career points — with only Ray Bourque (1,506 points), John Bucyk (1,339 points) and Phil Esposito (1,012 points) standing in front of him. Bergeron initially passed Middleton during Saturday's win over the Penguins, but his helper was eventually credited to Craig Smith, giving him just one point in that win.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1379223560296759297

Karson Kuhlman: He may not be known as an offensive juggernaut, but when he has time and space, Kuhlman can really uncork a missile — as Jordan Binnington found out during the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. The Minnesota Duluth product did it again on Monday, rifling a puck past Elliott in the closing minutes of the first period for his second goal of the season.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1379216954410606597

TWO DOWN

Jeremy Lauzon: It's been a very difficult stretch for Lauzon since returning from injury in late March — with the young defenseman whistled for a pair of holding penalties against both Nolan Patrick and Michael Raffl in this contest. That second call ended up costing the B's, as Couturier buried the equalizer shortly thereafter to force overtime.

Patrice Bergeron: Bergeron gets both a good and a (rare) bad rating in this one, as that overtime sequence likely won't make any highlight reels when the time comes for his Hall-of-Fame induction. While blowing a tire over the blue line is a tough break, the shot selection down the other end of the ice was brutal — with Sanheim easily absorbing the puck and leading the counter-rush in a matter of seconds.

PLAY OF THE GAME

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1379225220343603200

PARTING THOUGHTS

I think everyone in TD Garden felt this one. Ouch.

https://twitter.com/marinakmaher/status/1379246805549002752

QUOTE OF THE DAY

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1379252351811346434

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head out on the road for a three-game trek, starting with Tuesday in the second leg of a back-to-back slate with the Flyers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.