B’s fall short to Ducks
Cassidy drops first as coach
ANAHEIM — In a contest that was strange and helter-skelter at times, but also fast, emotional and highly competitive, the Bruins suffered a costly 5-3 loss to the Ducks last night, as their four-game winning streak under interim coach Bruce Cassidy came to an end.
The B’s handed the Ducks three easy goals, and fell just short of taking at least a point out of the game.
Trailing 3-2 after two periods, the Bruins tied the game at 3 at 11:35 of the third when a David Krejci pass sent Frankie Vatrano on a clean breakaway, which he finished with a crisp forehander past goalie Jonathan Bernier.
But Rickard Rackell tapped in a loose puck to make it 4-3 with 2:34 left. Then with Tuukka Rask gone to the bench and the net empty, Torey Krug hooked Andrfew Cogliano on a breakaway, which resulted in a goal being awarded.
The Bruins’ luck was not good, and neither were their defensive zone coverages on three Ducks goals. The B’s banged at least two pucks off posts and had a gorgeous David Pastrnak scoring shot disallowed for goalie interference. It also appeared the third Anaheim goal was offside but Cassidy had already used his coaches’ challenge on the Pastrnak play and couldn’t seek a review.
Brandon Carlo (No. 5) and Zdeno Chara (6) had the earlier goals for the B’s, who were 0-for-5 on the power play.
The Bruins play again tonight against the Kings at the Staples Center. Their four-game trip wraps up in Dallas on Sunday with a rare morning start at 11:35 a.m. (12:35 EST) against the Stars.
Toronto, Florida and other teams in the Eastern Conference look like they’re not going to make it easy for the B’s to get back into the playoffs. This is probably how it’s going to be right to season’s end: In and out of the playoffs, from night to night.
The key will be, as in a photo finish at the racetrack, getting your nose out front in the final stride, and maybe making the playoffs by just one point, or a tiebreaker.
With little margin for error now, it’s pretty simple: The B’s have to win the bulk of their remaining games.
The Bruins used a very speedy and tenacious forecheck to mostly control the first period, as they forced the Ducks to commit repeated turnovers in unsuccessful attempts to escape their zone.
Carlo had the lone goal of the period at 9:02. Patrice Bergeron won a faceoff in the left circle to David Backes, who sent the puck back to the right point. With Backes going hard to jam the net-front, Carlo hammered a slapshot past goalie Jonathan Bernier.
Things got busy in Period 2. Just 2:03 in, the B’s lost a puck battle along the left wing wall and the Ducks walked in 3-on-1 on Rask. The puck went to Ondrej Kase in the middle and he snapped a forehander past the B’s goalie to knot the score.
With the B’s on a power play at 5:38, off a hard cross-ice pass, David Pastrnak unleashed an awesome one-time bomb from the left circle. It scored, but was disallowed because Brad Marchand’s skate made contact with Bernier’s skate in the crease before the puck went in.
The B’s got that one right back at 6:55 when Backes set up Chara at the left point and his slapper beat a screened Bernier.
The Ducks tied the game again at 7:42, thanks to another B’s coverage mix-up. Four B’s defenders had Corey Perry surrounded in the high slot, but the puck somehow squirted loose and sent Rakell in alone on Rask. The goalie had the puck stopped, but it dribbled loose in the crease and he inadvertently pushed it in with his skate.
The Ducks claimed a 3-2 lead at 13:12 when Rask stopped Nick Ritchie’s wraparound bid, but exNortheastern defenseman Josh Manson lifted in the rebound.
Cassidy was the fourth B’s coach to win his first four games, joining Tom Johnson, Bep Guidolin and Harry Sinden.