There is a word for somebody, anybody, who commits the same mistakes over and over again while expecting a different result every time.
It is “insanity” in the game of hockey or anything else, and it feels like the Bruins have reached that point after another blown third-period lead in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers. The B’s are approaching an NHL record for overtime losses this season (18) after collecting their 15th overtime or shootout defeat, many of which have come after Boston couldn’t hold on for a win in the game’s final, frenetic 20 minutes when it’s about will as much as it’s about skill.
While acknowledging the effort level the B’s exerted on the second night of a back-to-back with travel after an emotional win over the Maple Leafs, it was exactly the kind of gut-check moment they will have to master in the playoffs. And they didn’t once again when challenged mentally and physically by Edmonton’s best players in the closing moments with Oiler goalie Stuart Skinner pulled from the game.
“You’ve got to find a way to close out a game. This was a great opportunity for us to realize that you can’t take anything for granted,” said Jim Montgomery. “In a couple of months, it doesn’t matter how tired you are at the end of a game. We’ve got to find a way to push through, and we didn’t find a way.
“We played a really good game and we’re on a back-to-back…Edmonton is not. But nonetheless, we did a really good job checking, our goaltender did his part and I think we did a good job not taking penalties against a really good power play. But in the end, they found a way to squeak one by us.”
This time around it happened again with the opponent’s goalie pulled after Danton Heinen narrowly missed an empty net game-clinching shot while being pressured by a hustling, back-checking Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Linus Ullmark froze a puck coming at him without any immediate pressure instead of opting to keep the play moving, and that resulted in a defensive zone faceoff that immediately went bad for the B’s.
Charlie Coyle lost a draw to Leon Draisaitl, the puck moved to Connor McDavid, and he threw a puck at the net that bounced off Draisaitl’s stick and went up and over Ullmark during a melee in front of the net leaving Brandon Carlo flat on his back.
OT secured 🤝 pic.twitter.com/ckkW6uRdCL
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 6, 2024
Afterward Ullmark was taking accountability for choosing to get a whistle and allow the Oilers to set up their best players for the game-tying play, so full credit to the Bruins netminder for taking responsibility after playing a stellar 24-save effort where he deserved a win.
“The feelings afterwards felt more like a playoff game because it felt like we had it,” said Ullmark. “Slipped out of our hands in that final minute. I mean, I got to take ownership to it as well. There’s no reason for me to freeze that puck [on the previous play when I] could keep it rolling and maybe turn it around and score an empty netter.”
But it also speaks to a real problem that the Bruins have with late-game details when it comes to winning faceoffs and executing late-and-close situations in the third period. There is enough evidence now to believe this is a problem that isn’t going away and is absolutely going to be a fatal issue if not addressed prior to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It’s also a concern that it is getting into the heads of the Bruins players and making them a fragile team expecting bad plays to happen in those moments. That will spell doom in the postseason even if Ullmark is trying to explain it away as “coincidence” that could have easily happened in the first period.
“I don’t care about that. It doesn’t really matter. You could lose in the first period, you could lose in the second…it doesn’t matter. You play a 60-minute game, and you lose and win together. That’s how it is,” said Ullmark. “It’s not my concern because we obviously played really well. It’s about coincidences sometimes. I don’t take too much to heart about that sometimes.
“At the end of the day maybe some people think [third periods] are our weaknesses, but we know what our weaknesses are and it’s not about that. It’s not as easy as just saying ‘third periods.’
Some of it is about adding another nasty, physical left-shot defender that can hold things down at the net front during these melee situations at the end of games. That will be a priority at the NHL trade deadline that should be addressed and might not even be that expensive after the Stars were able to get Chris Tanev without giving up a first-round pick.
But the other hard truth is that the Bruins need somebody to step up at the center position and win those faceoffs late in the game. Charlie Coyle has stepped into Patrice Bergeron’s skates in many ways when it comes to offensive production, penalty killing and strong all-around play at the center position while building chemistry with Brad Marchand.
But the Bruins obviously need somebody that can win that faceoff against Draisaitl, or even not lose it so cleanly that the puck goes right back to the Edmonton point man on defense to set up their scoring play.
That’s where some intriguing trade discussions have kicked up lately with Elias Lindholm again coming up in trade chatter as the Canucks reportedly are considering a run at Penguins winger Jake Guentzel instead. The Athletic's Chris Johnston reported that the Bruins might be a willing third trade party candidate if the Canucks opt to flip Lindholm to somebody else in order to make a deadline deal happen with the Pens sniper.
With the #canucks believed to be among those pursuing Jake Guentzel, word is they've had discussions about potentially flipping Elias Lindholm to the #bruins as part of the machinations to make it happen.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 5, 2024
Nothing concrete in place at this time. Still lots of moving parts.
This humble hockey writer has been hesitant for the Bruins to pull off a trade for a frontline center like Lindholm, but it feels more and more like this is an absolute need for the Black and Gold ahead of the postseason. It would allow Coyle to have some help as a frontline center and it would give the red-hot Pavel Zacha (three goals in two games) a chance to perhaps slide over to the wing while adding another top-6 forward talent to the group up front.
Even better one would expect the price has lowered on Lindholm if he’s being flipped a second time after posting just four goals and six points along with a minus-5 in 15 games since being dealt to the Canucks. From a Bruins perspective, Lindholm is winning over 58 percent of his draws since going to Vancouver and has been well over 55 percent on faceoffs over the last three seasons with the Flames and Canucks.
Lindholm is exactly the kind of guy a team would trot out for a faceoff in the waning moments of the third period, like the Bruins did with Coyle last night to once again a decidedly poor result. The overall performance for Lindholm is a bit of a red flag, but it also means the price should be down from the draft pick/prospect haul Vancouver initially sent to the Calgary Flames for the All-Star centerman.
At this point, the Bruins need to make several moves to address chronic third-period issues for this season’s team, or they need to make peace with humbler expectations in the playoffs that are going to expose current weaknesses that aren’t going away.