Bruins vs Flames 2/6/24
The only way to describe the performance against the Calgary Flames on tuesday night is a flat out dud. The Bruins end up losing 4-1 versus the flames and were very sloppy right out of the gate with inaccurate passes and some instances of terrible turnovers that led to scoring chances for the flames. Not the way you want to come out of an extended break and it might be cliche but they just have to move on and look to the next game.
Bruins Coach Jim Montgomery switched up the lines again, moving Jake DeBrusk to the top line and keeping Zacha and Pastrnak together on the second line. This is something he has been doing a lot recently and but to no avail this game. Trent Frederic got bumped up to the first line for DeBrusk after the first period, as he played great with the top line against the Carolina Hurricanes on 1/24. Although this time didnt produce the same results, Frederic looked comfortable on the top line and helped create some scoring chances.
Calgary opened up the scoring in the first period off an odd man rush. Charlie Coyle had a shorthanded chance, but it was blocked by Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom, and both Coyle and Danton Heinen were too deep leading to the odd man rush. The Flames score again to make it 2-0 off another odd man rush created when too many Bruins once again get caught too deep in the offensive zone. Give Calgary credit as they made great plays on both goals and took advantage of the Bruins mistakes.
Turnovers were a key factor in the downfall of the Bruins in this game, with multiple players making them in inopportune times. Right off the bat at the 3:00 minute mark in the 1st Paval Zacha tries to get too cute with a pass in the defensive zone that leads to a Flames scoring chance. Derrick Forbort had a pass to no one at the 1:52 minute mark of the 2nd that went directly to a Flames player for a scoring chance. Turnovers by McAvoy and Coyle respectively in the defensive zone lead to both the 3rd and 4th goals scored by Calgary. Coach Montgomery surely addressed this with the team after the game and look for the whole roster to bounce back and be more sharp for the next game.
David Pastrnak was non-existent out there for most of the game, not registering his first shot until under 2 minutes left in the 2nd period. He also had his share of turnovers and bad passes to go along with a ton of other players. Although goaltending wasn’t the reason the Bruins lost, Jeremy Swayman did give up a soft goal to make it 4-1. Brick remarked on the broadcast that now no one on the team was off the hook for the loss and I agree with him, as any chance of a Bruins comeback vanished with that goal.
Not a lot of excitement in this game if you are a Bruins fan, but the Captain was in the middle of the most physical parts of the game of course. After whacking Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom once he had covered the puck, Marchand was cheap shotted with a crosscheck to the face leading to a game misconduct for Martin Pospisil. Marchand’s face/nose has taken a beating as of recently as he was high sticked in the 3rd period while the Bruins were on the power play. Giving the Bruins a 5 on 3, with Zacha scoring with assists from Pastrnak and Coyle. This was the only goal the Bruins scored and they lost the rest of the power play after the goal with a too many me on the ice penalty. A fitting way to end this game with a deflating mental mistake.
The Bruins play next on 2/8 vs the Vancouver Canucks which will be a nationally televised game on ESPN. You know the Captain is going to come out flying vs the Canucks and look for the rest of the roster to follow his lead.
The Bruins Review 