Blues @ Bruins, 04/12/22

    The Boston Bruins fall to the St. Louis Blues 4-2 while losing defenseman Brandon Carlo.  Needless penalties, a disorganized power play, and an AHL D-core have the Bruins fumbling into the end of the regular season.  Jeremy Swayman, while at least looking better than he has in recent games, was unable to be the difference maker in the face of an evaporating list of Bruins defensemen, and four St. Louis power plays.  The Bruins had the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot so long as they took away at least one point (and Pittsburgh beat the Islanders in regulation) but fell short with their regulation loss.  The issue at hand is not that the Bruins haven’t officially clinched a playoff spot, as it’s just a statistical formality at this point, but that neither their play nor their lineup reflects that of a Stanley Cup contender.  

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The scoring broke open almost immediately.  A two-on-one with Reilly defending resulted in David Perron’s backhand shot beating Jeremy Swayman, giving St. Louis the lead thirty-four seconds into the game.  The Boston captain was quick to respond, with Bergeron tying the game off a catch-and-release shot from the bumper position only fifteen seconds later.  Torey Krug had seemingly scored his first goal against the Bruins, though a coach’s challenge from Bruce Cassidy revealed that the play was offside, leaving the game tied 1-1.  Erik Haula’s backhand pass from behind the net found the stick of Marc McLaughlin, who snapped a shot past St. Louis goaltender Ville Husson, giving Boston their first lead of the game and McLaughlin his second career goal.  

Bruins fans are intimately familiar with Torey Krug’s slapshot capabilities.  Tomas Nosek got a first hand lesson after blocking one of Krug’s patented blue line bombs, having to labor down the tunnel in considerable pain, returning at the start of the second period.  

Unlike Nosek, Brandon Carlo was absent from the Bruins’ bench at the start of the second period, and would not return for the rest of the game, leaving Boston without three of their top four defenseman.  Krug’s actual first goal against Boston came on the power play with less than five minutes remaining in the second period, as Krug danced off of the blue line and into the slot, firing a wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman.  The power play came from a Trent Frederic roughing penalty, where Frederic skated to Tarasenko after the whistle who then sent Frederic to the ice with a shoulder check. Frederic retaliated by shoving Tarasenko and ripping his helmet off in the ensuing scrum. Frederic's blunder led coach Bruce Cassidy to bench the forward for the remainder of the game. Three minutes after Krug's tying goal, an undefended Vladimir Tarasenko spun and fired a shot beating Swayman blocker side to give St. Louis the lead and all the momentum.

Halfway through the third period St. Louis extended their lead as Tarasenko put away his second goal of the game during a three-on-one passing play with Buchnevich.   St. Louis was able to run the clock and prevent Boston from generating any offense, ending the game 4-2.   

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Once again, the Bruins lose both the game and a key defenseman, all while being unable to score on the power play. The power play is now 0/18 for those keeping track at home.  This is a dangerous time of the year to start sustaining injuries and dropping games, especially when the man advantage couldn't even buy a goal. Unless the return of the presently injured Bruins gives this team a massive spark, Boston’s playoff aspirations may fade fast.  

Though the playoffs are a strange and unpredictable time, so who knows?

The Bruins faceoff against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Boston.  Hopefully playing against a non-playoff team, and one as non-threatening as Ottawa, can generate some confidence for a downtrodden Bruins lineup.