No matter what the Bruins do, they just can’t win. Never was that more evident than on Thursday night in Boston, when the B’s took a 2-0 advantage early in the second period only to see it completely evaporate into another devastating 3-2 shootout loss, this time at the hands of the hated Canadiens.
The Bruins struck first for the second straight game, taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after a Mark Recchi power-play goal, and they extended the lead to 2-0 five minutes into the second on Blake Wheeler‘s 13th of the season. But with three minutes left until the second intermission, the Canadiens came roaring back, registering two goals in 39 seconds — one by Glen Metropolit and one by Roman Hamrlik — to give themselves new life.
After a scoreless third period and overtime, the game went to a shootout, where Brian Gionta found the back of the net in the third round to earn Montreal the victory.
Once again, the Bruins outshot their opponents by a wide margin — 47-25 — but had very little to show for it come the final buzzer.
Tuukka Rask finished with 23 saves on 25 shots, and Jaroslav Halak stopped a whopping 45 of 47 for the Habs.
Canadiens 3, Bruins 2 (SO)
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Feb. 4, 2010
Headliner: When the Bruins went up 2-0 five minutes into the second period, that was all the motivation the Canadiens needed to pick up their game. After Glen Metropolit narrowed the deficit to one with a power-play goal, Roman Hamrlik eluded Tuukka Rask with a wrist shot from 57 feet just 39 seconds later to completely erase the deficit and effectively deflate any optimism the Bruins managed to build.
Grinder: Five minutes into the second period, David Krejci took a feed
from Michael Ryder and skated the puck all the way up the ice, putting
a shot on Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Halak made the save but Blake Wheeler was ready and
waiting for the rebound, and he eluded Halak for his 13th goal of the
season to put Boston up 2-0.
The
entire line worked in tandem to finally produce some results after some
disappointing results of late, and the chemistry came at
the perfect time: The extra breathing room would prove to be crucial once the Habs came back to knot the score at 2.
Weak Link: After such a promising start to the game — and after providing a burst
of hope that the losing streak would finally be halted — the Bruins seemed
to get complacent and it came back to bite them.
The Bruins were riding high after staking a 2-0 lead five
minutes into the second period, but the optimism was short-lived. The
Canadiens came back to score two goals in 39 seconds with less than
three minutes remaining in the frame, the first of which came on a
power play, the result of a Matt Hunwick hooking penalty. After what
looked like it what would become a sure-fire victory, the Bruins were
back at square one by the end of the second frame.
In their last three games, the B’s have fired 89 shots on net and have just three goals to show for it.
Key Moment: With the game knotted at 2 and just 3:41 left on the clock, the Bruins earned a power-play opportunity when Maxim Lapierre of the Canadiens went to the box for boarding. For the fourth time of the evening, though, the B’s failed to take advantage, and despite Michael Ryder, Derek Morris and Mark Recchi all earning great scoring chances, they couldn’t finish their shots when it mattered most and the B’s were forced into overtime.
In overtime, the B’s earned another power play, took a 4-on-3 advantage and still couldn’t score — and they would’ve lost if it weren’t for two spectacular saves by Tuukka Rask, one of which came on a shot from four feet by Andrei Markov.
Up Next: The B’s are back for a Saturday matinee at home against Vancouver. This is the first meeting between the two this season, and it doesn’t look like it’ll be an easy one for Boston.
The Canucks, at 34-19-2, are currently in first place in the Northwest Division with 70 points (prior to Thursday’s games). Center Henrik Sedin leads the team in points (78), goals (25) and assists (53), and goaltender Roberto Luongo boasts a 2.33 GAA. Prior to Tuesday’s loss at Montreal, the Canucks had a seven-game winning streak going.
