Bruins fail to seal the deal once again
The Bruins and Edmonton Oilers played one of the most exciting games two weeks ago in Edmonton that saw the teams score a combined 11 goals in what many felt was the game of the year.
It was a much different story at the Garden on Tuesday, but every bit as exciting — and much more indicative of what a playoff game would be like. And it didn’t end well for the B’s.
After losing another late lead, the Bruins lost 2-1 in overtime when Connor McDavid found Leon Draisaitl and his shot went off the stick of Brandon Carlo past Linus Ullmark for the winner at 2:18.
It was a tough one to lose for the B’s, who earned their 15th loser point on the season. Boston’s checking game that was vastly improved in its win over Toronto on Monday carried over into Tuesday. But, in a recurring script, they could not close the deal again. The game had the makings of a signature win for the B’s. Instead, it turned into what has become a trademark loss for this team.
“After the second period, I talked to the team about ‘you’re going to be tired, you’re going to be hurting in the playoffs,’” said Jim Montgomery. “(It’s about) projecting forward and finding a way when you are tired and being able to execute, staying in the moment, being able to find a way to win a game by not beating ourselves. And we did that for most of the time in the third period. But you know what? We didn’t. So it’s a good opportunity for us to grow and get ready. Because obviously we’re down right now.”
Pavel Zacha broke the ice in a tense 0-0 game at 4:26 of the third period on a bullet of a finish. The Oilers dumped it out of their zone and into the Boston end. Parker Wotherspoon retrieved it and, in a quick motion, sent a pass off the neutral zone boards that got through the Edmonton defenders, giving Danton Heinen a 2-on-1 with Zacha.
Heinen sent the feed and Zacha made no mistake, scoring his third goal in two games on a one-timer.
After a lot of solid defensive zone play, the B’s then had to kill a questionable Trent Frederic penalty on McDavid with 5:08 left in regulation and they did so.
But with goalie Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra skater, Heinen had a chance to seal it with empty netter but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got his stick on the the shot and it went just wide. And after Ullmark froze the puck,, the Oilers tied it up with 1:20 left in regulation. McDavid attacked at the goal line and shoveled a backhander to the net. It was deflected home by Draisaitl (the goal was originally credited to Zach Hyman) to tie it up to spoil Ullmark’s shutout bid and send it to overtime. There, Ullmark would suffer his sixth straight loss.
Asked if the tight-checking nature of the game made it feel like a playoff game, the goalie said it didn’t.
“The feelings afterwards felt more like a playoff game because it felt like we had it and it slipped out of our hands,” said Ullmark, who made 25 saves. “I’ve got to take ownership as well. There’s no reason for me to freeze that puck, (I should have kept) it rolling and maybe turn it around and score an empty netter.”
The scoreless first period was fast-paced, as is typical for Edmonton games, and both goalies were on their games early. With the Oilers waiting in Boston while the B’s earned the win in Toronto on Monday, McDavid had plenty of juice, taking five shots in the first period and landing four.
Ullmark had to be sharp, especially on a McDavid wraparound attempt.
But as much oxygen as both McDavid and Draisaitl can suck up, the B’s did a good job not allowing too many unmolested chances. And unlike the 6-5 track meet between the two teams in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago, this one was a tight-checking affair by both teams.
The B’s got the first power play when Dylan Holloway hooked Jakub Lauko with 2:19 left in the period and they had some chances. The best one came from Brad Marchand from the right circle, but Skinner made a sprawling save to keep the game knotted at 0-0 going into the second. Shots were even, 9-9, in the opening 20 minutes.
The B’s got another power play early in the second period, but this one was less effective than the first one and they had no scoring chances.
The Oilers’ potent power play got its first opportunity shortly after the game went back to full strength, with Jesper Boqvist getting whistled for a high-stick on Hyman. The Oilers pressured with McDavid again calling on Ullmark to make a quality save and the B’s survived the kill.
By the end of second, the B’s were starting to tilt the ice in their favor and held a 12-8 shot edge in the period. Pastrnak created a near breakaway for himself with an offensive zone steal, but he lost the puck on his move attempt to the forehand.
They scored early in the third and, after shutting down the late Edmonton power play, it appeared as though they might actually win consecutive games for the first time since the AllStar break. It didn’t happen.
While it was a strong overall performance by Ullmark, who was beaten in the end on a deflected shot, the goalie wasn’t looking for any silver linings.
“Not good enough, I would say. We lost,” said Ullmark in self-assessment. “It’s a 60-minute game, 60-plus today. And it’s not 59 or something like that. It’s something to take with me to the next game. But it is what it is.”
With his next start not scheduled until after Friday’s trade deadline, and his name being bandied about in trade speculation, the lingering question now is if his next game will be in a Bruins’ uniform.