Hole too deep for Bruins
Khudobin pulled after 4 goals, takes loss
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Bruins deserve some credit for getting up off the mat and giving the Nashville Predators a brief scare last night, but it’s tough to take any solace after spotting the opponents a four-goal lead just 24:10 into the game.
The B’s did not play well for most of the first two periods, and though they scraped back to get within a goal in the third, they wound up with a well-deserved 5-3 loss to the Preds.
Anton Khudobin lost his magic touch, suffering his first regulation loss of the season, and he didn’t stick around until the end. After giving up the fourth goal, he was pulled in favor of Tuukka Rask.
It’s not like the B’s were consistently awful. They had a 40-25 edge in shots and spent long periods of time in the offensive zone, but they made enough miscues to allow the talented, opportunistic Predators to bury them.
“We were doing some things well. We were separating down low. It’s that when we made mistakes, we allowed them the good ice uncontested, and you can’t do that against any team, let alone a team like Nashville,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “The thing we take away from this one is we played well enough to win for a lot of the game, but when we broke down, the breakdowns were too big.”
One of the hallmarks of the Bruins’ recent upswing has been the ability to play with a lead, but last night, they allowed the first goal of the game for the first time since spotting the San Jose Sharks a 1-0 lead on Nov.18. Then they gave the Nashville the second, third and fourth goals.
The B’s had a tremendous opportunity on the first shift when Pastrnak, thanks to a Patrice Bergeron pass, found himself all alone in front of the net with all the time in the world. Pastrnak tried to go between his legs and fool Pekka Rinne (37 saves), and the move might have worked had he been able to elevate the puck. He wasn’t, and Rinne made the stick save.
Then on the next shift, the Preds took the lead at 1:26. David Krejci’s soft clear attempt never made it out of the defensive zone, and Alexei Emelin fired a puck that produced a fat rebound off Khudobin. It went right to Craig Smith, who was left all alone to pop it one of his two goals.
“Tough bounce. It hit the totally wrong side of my pad. Tough bounce,” Khudobin said.
It looked like the B’s would go to intermission with a manageable one-goal deficit, but the Preds and Smith struck with 17.4 seconds left in the first. The B’s had a faceoff in the Nashville zone, but off the draw, Kevin Fiala flipped the puck high out of the zone. Mattias Ekholm beat Danton Heinen for the bouncing puck then dished it to the open Smith, who beat Khudobin to the glove side.
The Preds made it 3-0 at 2:15 of the second on a play off the draw to the right of Khudobin. The puck came back to Viktor Arvidsson at the blue line, and he sent it right back down the slot, where Colton Sissons made a one-touch pass to Nick Bonino. Khudobin was aggressively playing the point shot, and Bonino had a wide-open net.
At 4:10, the Preds chased Khudobin. There was a puck battle in the neutral zone along the right boards, and Fiala was able to control the puck behind Charlie McAvoy (minus-3). He broke in on a 2-on-1 against Zdeno Chara. The captain did everything to take away the pass, so Fiala just walked in and beat Khudobin with a backhander. Khudobin was done for the night.
“We left him out to dry,” Torey Krug said.
The B’s got one back on a McAvoy power-play goal in the second and then made it a game when Chara and Pastrnak scored 1:15 apart early in the third.
After Pastrnak’s goal, his 14th of the season, Nashville coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout. Just 34 seconds later, the Preds had their two-goal lead back. The B’s couldn’t get the puck deep, and Roman Josi turned it into instant offense, springing Filip Forsberg for a breakaway. He beat Rask with a shot off the post and in at 6:22.
The B’s pulled Rask for an extra skater with 3:10 left but couldn’t score.
“Obviously, it’s a game of mistakes,” Pastrnak said. “But tonight, it felt like every single mistake hurt us.”