BOSTON — The Boston Bruins dominated large portions of Tuesday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, but it wasn’t enough in a 2-1 loss.
Boston had an 80-41 shot attempt edge, a 41-28 shots on goal advantage and won 64 percent (48 for 75) of the faceoffs. The only problem for the Bruins — one that’s been an issue throughout the season — was an inability to capitalize on the abundance of scoring chances they created.
“I think that the only thing we talk about here is pretty simple. It’s not the offense; it’s the lack of finish,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said.
“I think when you come back from a long road trip like we did, we all know that that first game (home) becomes a challenge, and I thought our guys handled it well,” Julien added. “I thought we came out there, skated, worked hard, you know, dominated the game. (We) had lots of shots and scoring chances, but the inability to finish is the only reason that we’re sitting here (Tuesday) with a loss.”
The Bruins generated 29 scoring chances at even strength, seven more than the Canucks. The B’s also had a 46-25 scoring chance edge in all situations, per War on Ice.
Boston’s power-play, specifically the first unit, was very impressive. The Bruins generated 12 shots on goal, 25 shot attempts and 15 scoring chance on four power-play opportunities. That’s enough for at least one goal on most nights.
“I like that we controlled the play and we had chances; didn’t like that we didn’t finish,” Julien said of the power play. “Same thing I said, but overall, we did a good job, I thought, of managing the puck and spending most of the power play in their zone. We had lots of chances, so again, you know, there’s only one issue, and we keep going back to it.”
Of course, Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack deserves a fair share of credit. He played an outstanding game and made 40 saves, one short of his season high. His team gave up several shots from the low slot and didn’t go a great job clearing rebounds, but he was still able to battle through traffic around the crease and consistently make saves.
“It was real good,” Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins said of the goaltending. “I always thought Eddie Lack was good. He was so good the other night against the Islanders, he was unbelievable there and he just followed up again (Tuesday). He made some real big saves for us. It’s good to see, you like to see a guy getting hot.”
This kind of loss, when everything except a little puck luck goes your way, are easy to take moral victories from early in the season. But the Bruins are at a point where it’s all about results, not small victories. They have a slim two-point lead over the Florida Panthers and a four-point edge over the Philadelphia Flyers for the final wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“I think it’s been better the last few games, but in a game like this, we’ve got to find a way to find the desperation to get the extra goal,” Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said.
“We’ve got to just find a way, that’s basically the bottom line.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
