CLNS Media
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NHL
  • Betting
  • NBA History
  • Podcasts
    • A List Podcast
    • Almost Shameless
    • Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast
    • Bruins Beat
    • Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman
    • Cedric Maxwell Podcast
    • Celtics Beat
    • Celtics Lab
    • Celtics Stuff Live
    • Celtics Postgame Live
    • Dome Theory with Bobby Manning
    • The Garden Report
    • Greg Bedard’s Patriots Podcast
    • Patriots Beat
    • Patriots Postgame Show
    • Patriots Roundtable
    • Patriots Press Pass
    • Poke the Bear
    • Red Sox Beat
    • Winning Plays
    • View All Podcasts
  • About
    • About CLNS
    • Our Sponsors
    • Talent
    • Job Opportunities
    • Join Our Network
    • Advertise With Us
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok Discord
CLNS Media
Join The Network Subscribe
  • Home
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NHL
  • Betting
  • NBA History
  • Podcasts
    • podcast
      • A List Podcast
      • Almost Shameless
      • Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast
      • Bruins Beat
      • Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman
      • Cedric Maxwell Podcast
      • Celtics Beat
    • podcast
      • Celtics Lab
      • Celtics Postgame Live
      • Dome Theory with Bobby Manning
      • The Garden Report
      • Greg Bedard’s Patriots Podcast
      • Patriots Beat
    • podcast
      • Patriots Postgame Show
      • Pats Interference
      • Poke the Bear
      • Red Sox Beat
      • Winning Plays
      • View All Podcasts
  • About
    • About CLNS
    • Our Sponsors
    • Talent
    • Job Opportunities
    • Join Our Network
    • Advertise With Us
CLNS Media
Home » Bruins Get An Unwanted But Necessary Wake Up Call In Game 2 OT Loss To Blues
Sports

Bruins Get An Unwanted But Necessary Wake Up Call In Game 2 OT Loss To Blues

Mike PetragliaBy Mike Petraglia05/30/2019Updated:09/02/20215 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

https://youtu.be/cImJhwaoB9k

BOSTON — It wasn’t the desired outcome but maybe – just maybe – a 3-2 overtime loss to a more hungry Blues team is just what this Bruins team needs.

Yes, the Bruins entered Game 2 Wednesday night on a roll, winners of eight straight in the postseason since falling down 2-1 to Columbus in the Eastern semifinal series. The Bruins overpowered, outhit and outclassed the Blues in a 4-2 win in Game 1, in a contest that shouldn’t have been that close.

And the Bruins had that same sense when they went up 1-0 just 4:44 into Wednesday’s game on a Charlie Coyle power play goal. They had it again when Joakim Nordstrom beat Jordan Binnington in front of the net just 40 seconds after the Blues had tied it. So the Bruins – again – were just toying with St. Louis it appeared.

But on the ice, there was a much different vibe. The Blues were hanging tough and outworking the Bruins for scoring opportunities. And they were getting them. Sure enough, when Brad Marchand turned over the puck at the blue line and Vladimir Tarasenko got behind Zdeno Chara, he had not one, not two but three chances to put it behind Tuukka Rask and finally did, tying the game again 2-2.

Trending
Celtics Blow Out Nets 139-96 for 10th Straight Win Over Brooklyn

“Yeah crazy game in the first,” Rask told me. “It was looking like it was going to be one of those 5-4 games or whatever. Lucky for a goalie, it wasn’t. But yeah it was crazy. It kind of was not really playoff style I guess. It was back and forth and not a lot of chances, so it was crazy.”

“Yeah, we need to be better,” Marchand admitted. “Personally, I wasn’t good the last two games so we can’t be playing like that.”

Indeed, the Marchand line is a minus-7 over the first two games against St. Louis. The Bruins got away with that against Toronto – and to a lesser degree – Columbus. But Marchand, Pastrnak and Bergeron need to produce like a first line or the Blues could turn this series on its head in St. Louis.

Marchand knows he can’t be drop-passing pucks blindly into his own blue line like he did in the first period. Mike Milbury on NBC called the repeated mistakes Marchand made the kind of mistakes “you see from a rookie.”

“Taking care of little details. I think that’s the biggest thing. It will come. That’s how it is,” Marchand added. “I think that we can control the mistakes that are being made. But that’s hockey.”

From that point the Blues were the better team. Certainly, losing puck-moving defenseman Matt Gryzelcyk to an apparent concussion on a nasty check into the glass by Oskar Sundqvist didn’t help with three minutes left in the first. Grzelcyk was taken to a hospital for tests and did not return.

The Bruins simply did not have enough in the tank to overcome that loss and a hungry Blues team eager to snap the franchise’s 13-game Cup Final losing skid and win for the first time ever in a Final series.

“We knew scoring a goal in the first period wasn’t going to deter them,” Torey Krug told me. “They were the much better team tonight. The lesson to be learned is take advantage of the opportunity you have in front of you, know what kind of team they are and we know that going forward.”

That attitude carried over to overtime, when the Bruins failed on their five golden opportunities in the third period to score and put the game away. Brayden Schenn took a slashing penalty with 6:38 left in the third. The Bruins got one shot on goal while the Blues got two. That, more than anything, was a sign of things to come. The Bruins had great chances from Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand (twice) and David Pastrnak between the circles with 40 seconds left. Jordan Binnington suddenly turned into Patrick Roy and saved everything.

https://youtu.be/3plg3CyxI8w

The Bruins tank was on empty and the overtime intermission did little to fill it. The Blues came out pressing the short-handed Bruins and eventually had to take a penalty in their own zone because they couldn’t gain possession to clear the puck. The writing was on the ice. And when Carl Gunnarsson teed up a slapper from the right point 3:51 into overtime, Rask never saw it and the Blues had their much needed road win in the Cup series.

“Missed opportunity,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They’re playing to win too, right. They lost the first game. They were desperate. I shouldn’t say they were desperate. They’re not desperate. They seemed to play with more urgency tonight than they did Game 1. What they did was I thought they were on top of us, tighter than they did the first game. They didn’t allow us to get the space. As a result, we didn’t seem to win as many races as we did Game 1 to pucks.”

The lesson from Wednesday night is understanding that this Blues team isn’t going into summer without a fight.

2019 Stanley Cup Final boston bruins Brad Marchand bruins bruins stanley cup Patrice Bergeron St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Tuukka Rask
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email

Mike Petraglia

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Joined CLNS Media in 2017. Covered Boston sports as a radio broadcaster, reporter, columnist and TV and video talent since 1993. Covered Boston Red Sox for MLB.com from 2000-2007 and the New England Patriots for ESPN Radio, WBZ-AM, SiriusXM, WEEI, WEEI.com and CLNS since 1993. Featured columnist for the Boston Celtics on CelticsBlog.

Related Posts

Bruins Avoid Bo Horvat Trade & Pavel Zacha Looks Worth It

02/04/2023

Should Fabian Lysell be Untouchable in Trade Talks?

02/01/2023

Time to Panic on Bruins + Should Fabian Lysell be Traded?

01/31/2023

Joe Burrow ‘Feels Great’ About Direction Of Bengals, Even After Gut-Punching AFC Title Loss To Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

01/30/2023

No Need to Overreact to Bruins Loss to Lightning & When Will Jake DeBrusk be Back?

01/28/2023

Celtics Trade on the Horizon + Kyrie Irving Seek Contract Extension

01/27/2023

Comments are closed.

Follow Us
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube
Featured Videos
Featured Videos

Kyrie Irving Traded, and How It Impacts Boston

By Tim Sheils02/06/2023

On Friday, Kyrie Irving rocked the NBA by requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets…

Maceo Parker Interview: Playing with Prince and James Brown, Growing Up in Kinston

02/05/2023

Realistic Celtics Trade Deadline Targets

02/05/2023

Breaking down the latest deadline chatter as trade rumbles grow louder

02/05/2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok Discord
  • Home
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NHL
  • View All Podcasts
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

2022 North Station Media. Designed by J&R Marketing.


At North Station Media, we don’t just celebrate diversity, we live it. North Station Media is an equal opportunity employer that commits itself everyday creating the most inclusive environment for all its employees and hiring the best and most qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Cleantalk Pixel