Is the tank on for the Boston Bruins?
That’s really a legitimate question after Saturday night’s head-scratching decision for the B’s not to challenge a questionable zone entry that led to San Jose’s late third-period, game-winning goal in an eventual 3-1 loss for the Bruins at SAP Center.
On a Timothy Liljegren zone entry it appeared that William Eklund hadn’t quite tagged up ahead of Lucas Carlsson backhanding home a loose puck rebound in front with little more than three minutes to go in the game. The Bruins coaching staff took a timeout to review the play and determine whether they would challenge the play being offside, but they eventually decided not to challenge the score.
It certainly looked like Liljegren was carrying the puck with control while going into the zone with speed, even though the puck wasn’t directly connected to his stick blade as he’s moving with purpose.
🎥 Coach Sacco and the #NHLBruins react following Saturday night’s 3-1 loss to the Sharks in San Jose.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 23, 2025
Full postgame reaction ➡️ https://t.co/C3Md2c5I3I pic.twitter.com/3ukEV7TfP6
Bruins video coaches Mat Myers and Dan Darrow are usually spot on with their reviews and challenges, so they deserve the benefit of the doubt knowing what is, and is not, going to get overturned by the NHL’s Situation Room. But what exactly is there to lose for the Black and Gold when there’s only a couple of minutes left in the game, and it could possibly wipe a potentially back-breaking game-winning goal off the board?
“There was discussion [of challenging] when we looked at it with the crew, but we just decided that the player entering the zone didn‘t have possession of the puck when he was crossing over the blue line,” said Joe Sacco. “Therefore, he allowed his teammate the ability to tag up there.
“It took us a while to get going, but we were on our toes and assertive. We made them defend and that was part of the game plan. It would have been nice to put able to put one in and extend the lead.”
In truth, this is not the worst thing in the world that could happen to a Bruins team that’s now lost five games in a row and continues to hover around an Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot. Even after the latest setback against the Sharks, the Bruins find themselves just six points behind the Habs for the second wild card spot with the Habs holding two games in hand over the Black and Gold.
But they are also holding the ninth-worst points total (69) in the league, which barely puts them into the top 10 of the NHL Draft. Nobody on the Bruins wants to talk about tanking for a better first-round pick or folding on the regular season with 11 games still left to play this year, but it feels very clear what this organization would be better off doing from a long-term standpoint where a playoff berth and first-round exit this season would do absolutely nothing for this retooling group.
Instead, it feels like a more exciting Bruins endeavor to potentially get excited about the B’s being in a spot to draft a special talent like Boston College skater James Hagens, who posted 10 goals and 35 points for the Eagles as a true 18-year-old Hockey East freshman this season. That would be the ultimate bright spot in a season where things have broken badly for the B’s at seemingly every turn.
Skill, skating, and playmaking make James Hagens a hockey wizard. 🧙♂️#IIHF #WorldJuniors @usahockey pic.twitter.com/WErweXtRIa
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) March 12, 2025
“I think it’s about trusting the process,” said Henri Jokiharju. “Sometimes games go that way, so we’ve got to be better.”
The challenge at this point with a Bruins team in this situation, of playing out the string, is keeping things from going completely sideways with the remaining group left to pick up the pieces after Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Brad Marchand were shipped out, and it feels like Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy won’t be seen again this season.
One could sense the frustration on Joonas Korpisalo’s face postgame when he’d played well again and backstopped a Bruins team that outshot the Sharks 8-5 in the third period, but still found a way to lose it in the game’s final minutes.
“We played way better and had some decent zone time [in the third period], but once again we lost it in the end,” said Korpisalo with a frustrated chuckle. “So you can’t be happy.”
There are a lot of smart guys in the B’s dressing room that know the only thing they are playing for at this point is a job on this team for next season, and that the organization might just be okay with the losses piling up right now. That’s a tough way to make a living in the NHL, but that’s where the Bruins are in the final death throes of this very odd, lost 2024-25 regular season.
ONE TIMERS
*Pretty good second look from Fabian Lysell, who generated five shot attempts in 13-plus minutes of ice time in his second NHL game with the Bruins. He was using his speed to generate shots for himself and to put the San Jose skaters on their heels, and that’s exactly what he will do when he’s at his best.
One other key was being more aggressive with his shot rather than deferring and passing to his teammates, a key focus for him after not doing enough of that during his first shot with the Black and Gold back in December.
Fabian Lysell didn’t like hockey at first? 😮
— NESN (@NESN) March 19, 2025
Get to know the latest @NHLBruins call-up! 📞 pic.twitter.com/SrZCKX0Q0V
“He’ll get some more minutes offensively,” said Sacco, on Saturday morning prior to the game against the Sharks. “He’s gotta be able to make some plays for us, produce some offensive, whether it’s offensively in the zone or through the neutral zone off the rush, some things like that. And then, his details and habits have to be solid away from the puck.”
Lysell finished with three shots on net and five shot attempts, and certainly did his part in an eventually disappointing loss for the Black and Gold in San Jose.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that a young, defensively lax San Jose team also served as a pretty good team for Lysell to dip his toes into the water. That may have been part of the reason that the 22-year-old Lysell didn’t play in that first game against a big, heavy, talented and physical Vegas Golden Knights club.
But he’s earned himself at least a couple more top-6 looks after doing well with Marat Khusnutdinov and Elias Lindholm, and that’s all the Bruins are looking for from the youngster with less than a month to go in the regular season.
*The Boston Bruins had won 14 straight games against the San Jose Sharks dating back to the 2016-17 NHL season, which was snapped in the 3-1 loss to San Jose on Saturday night at the SAP Center. That was the longest running streak in the NHL for one team’s dominance over another and serves as another very real reminder that this a whole different Black and Gold era that everybody is about to enter.
