FINAL: Canucks 3 , Bruins 2 (OT) - Bruins blow a two goal third period lead

Same old brutal story for the Bruins tonight who fell 3-2 in overtime after blowing a two goal lead in the third period. It is also inexcusable to get called for too many men on the ice in overtime. The game had the feeling that once the Bruins gave up the tying goal and were called for the penalty in overtime, it was just a matter of time before they would give up the game winner. Another takeaway for me was that the Bruins were dreadful in face-offs as Vancouver won that battle 41-28. Boston is now at 13 overtime losses on the season trailing only three behind the 2005-06 Bruins who had 16. 

I thought that the Bruins got off to a better start to the game in the first period as they had good zone time resulting in good shots. Although, I didn't like the Boston power play as they had three chances in the first and came away with only three shots. The Bruins also had a tough time with getting simple zone entries during their man advantages. 

The Bruins got on the board first in the second period thanks to a goal by Jesper Boqvist which was started by a nice find from Justin Brazeau. Brazeau recorded his first NHL career assist on that play.

 Danton Heinen made it 2-0 later in the period putting the puck inside of the left post after Trent Frederic's wraparound attempt  from the other side. 

Vancouver cut the Boston lead in half in the third period when Brock Boeser got a bouncing puck past Jeremy Swayman on the blocker side. 

The Canucks tied it at two late in the third when they had already pulled their goalie. Filip Hronek tied it up with 1:11 left in the third when he took a slap shot from the point that got past Swayman, who was screened by Boeser. 

The Bruins were called for too many men on the ice in overtime leading to a game-winning goal by Boeser who scored his second goal of the night on the power play. Boeser was on the right side of the crease and tapped in a hard pass from J.T. Miller from the left face-off circle. 

I thought the Bruins all game failed to get a body on Boeser and allowed him to get open too easily late in the game. While Miller didn't hurt the Bruins with his scoring, he still finished the night with three assists. With this Boston loss, Vancouver now jumps back into first place in the overall standings, one point ahead of the Bruins and the New York Rangers. 

Swayman played an outstanding game tonight finishing with 35 saves and saved Boston so many times today when Vancouver had golden scoring chances. 

The Bruins will be back in action to finish up their four-game Western Conference road trip on Monday night in Seattle to face the Kraken at 10 p.m. ET. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The Bruins continue to struggle with closing out games and getting down the basics of the game at the end. It is mind boggling that  they blow every close game   go to overtime, and get called for a penalty late in games. I am starting to wonder if it is just a lack of commitment, energy, focus  or poor messaging from Jim Montgomery. A too many men on the ice in overtime just can't happen. 
• It is also interesting that it feels like every west coast game the Bruins have had at least goes to overtime. 
• Swayman was amazing tonight and it is too bad that the collapse will overshadow his performance. 

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

3. Jeremy Swayman (35 saves) 

2. Brock Boeser (2 goals)

1. J.T. Miller (3 assists)

_____________________________

WHO: Bruins (34-12-12) at Canucks (37-216-6)
WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
WHERE: Rogers Arena, Vancouver. 
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE
ROSTERS

Demko

PREGAME NOTES
The Bruins continue their four-game Western Conference road trip in Vancouver to face the Canucks at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Justin Brazeau will sub in for Jakub Lauko tonight while Matt Grzelcyk is a game-time decision. Jeremy Swayman will get the start in net for the Bruins tonight. 

Boston is facing a Canucks team that is coming off a 5-2 loss at Seattle on Thursday night and has gone 1-4-0 in their last five games. The Bruins beat Vancouver by a score of 4-0 at TD Garden back on February 8th. Vancouver has the best first period goal differential in the NHL (+27). The Bruins will have to keep an eye on J.T. Miller tonight as he leads the team in points on the season at 76. Miller also leads Vancouver skaters in scoring against the Bruins as he has  18 points in 27 career (7-11-18). Brock Boeser paces Vancouver with 31 goals this season with Miller right behind him at 29. The Canucks are tied for the second-best goals for/game in the league at 3.64 with Dallas and Colorado. Vancouver also has the seventh-best goals against/game at 2.75. The Bruins can not afford to get behind early as the Canucks are 21-5-1 when leading after the first period and 31-1-2 when leading after two periods. The key will be scoring early as the Canucks are 2-6-1 when trailing after the first and 2-9-1 when down after two periods.