BSJ Game Report: Ducks 4, Bruins 3 - Bruins push back, but fold late in brutal finish against Anaheim

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the Ducks with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES 

A slow start … strong pushback … and ugly finish

Given how just about everything has seemed to go Boston’s way throughout this recent West Coast swing, Tuesday sure seemed like the kind of game where the Bruins would inevitably come out on top against a young Ducks club. 

Sure, the opening 20 minutes at Honda Center might have been tough to stomach for most Bruins fans, but such a flat start wasn’t entirely surprising, given Boston’s workload as of late.

After obliterating the Kings the previous night, a sleepy start was to be expected on the second leg of a back-to-back slate — although not to the degree where Boston entered the first intermission staring at a 3-1 deficit.

A pushback was needed, and the Bruins delivered for the next 30+ minutes of play. Brandon Carlo made it a one-goal game with a long-range strike in the second period, while David Pastrnak secured the equalizer in the next frame to put Boston in a position to escape Orange County with at least a point.

But in crunch time, the Bruins completely ran out of gas — with multiple self-inflicted miscues and turnovers making things far too easy for the Ducks. By the time Charlie McAvoy was whistled for a hook (the end result of a brutal Craig Smith turnover) with just 45 seconds left in regulation, momentum was firmly back in Anaheim’s favor.

And sure enough, despite their efforts to scrap back into the contest, the Bruins exited the ice on Tuesday with zero points to account for, as Trevor Zegras lit the lamp a little over 20 seconds later to secure a regulation win for the home team. 

Just an ugly way to see your five-game win streak get snapped.

Fourth line shows promise  

When it comes to charting out Boston’s resurgence since the holiday break, a lot of credit goes to the B’s drastic lineup shuffle and the returns put forth by a new-look, middle-six grouping. But on Tuesday, it was Boston’s fourth line that did a lot of the heavy lifting. 

Nick Foligno led the way with a Gordie Howe hat trick, while Tomas Nosek added a pair of helpers. Foligno stacking some points is a nice development for a Bruins team that really wants to get him rolling and settled into an established role, while the potential return of Curtis Lazar should allow this fourth line to continue to build some traction together.

TWO UP

 Nick Foligno and fourth line: Good to see Foligno finally break through on the scoresheet. All things considered, the veteran forward has actually been pretty solid in the role handed to him since getting shifted down to Boston’s checking unit, but it’s still encouraging to see some of his hard work get rewarded.. Yes, the veteran has been very disappointing this season, especially when it comes to his baseline stats. But the Bruins are still holding out hope that Foligno can become an effective contributor in this lineup. Tuesday was a step in the right direction.  

Hall-Haula-Pastrnak line: Boston’s second line continues to string together some strong performances since Erik Haula returned to the 2C spot. Sure, Pastrnak lit the lamp in the third period off of some fortuitous bounces, but this top-six duo made things difficult for John Gibson and Ducks all night. 

FOUR DOWN

Derek Forbort: Just a poor clear attempt from Forbort here that opened the door for Rickard Rakell's power-play tally in the first period. Considering that a strong PK presence is a cornerstone of Forbort’s game, a miscue like this simply can’t happen.

Brad Marchand: Isac Lundestrom’s tally in the first period was the byproduct of a D-zone breakdown and a juicy rebound down low, but the entire sequence was jumpstarted by Marchand trying to get too fancy while exiting the zone. A simple, clean play would have got Boston out of danger there. 

D-zone coverage in first: Yes, we singled out Forbort and Marchand for their individual miscues, but they were far from the only culprits that made things far too easy for the Ducks in the first period. Trent Frederic might want to burn the tape from this one after Adam Henrique slipped past him en route to his tally.

Craig Smith: Yes, Anaheim’s game-winning tally from Zegras was made possible by McAvoy’s hooking penalty, but the true catalyst in that final minute of play was a HORRID turnover from Craig Smith that allowed the Ducks to swarm Boston down low. Can’t be doing this, especially when you’re not producing down the other end of the ice.

PLAY OF THE GAME

A little puck luck here from Pastrnak. 

LOOSE PUCKS

After getting his bell rung by Sam Carrick in Boston’s last meeting with the Ducks, it was all but guaranteed that Foligno was going to settle the score with the Anaheim forward in the early going of this one.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their six-game road trip on Thursday with a matchup against Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop is set for 9:00 p.m. EST.