Mark Stuart Shoulders Blame for Bruins’ Tough Overtime Loss to Flyers in Game 4

PHILADELPHIA — Mark Stuart returned to the Bruins' lineup in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since April 1 due to cellulitis in his left pinkie finger. The defenseman was on the ice for two second-period goals by the Flyers in their 5-4 overtime win on Friday night — the first of which was a Chris Pronger blast that Stuart inadvertently tipped by his goalie, Tuukka Rask.

After the game, the rugged blue liner was hard on himself for what he considered a poor performance.

"I didn’t play as well as I could have," Stuart said when asked if he struggled to shake off unexpected rust because of all the time he missed. "I could’ve played a lot better, actually. You can [blame] the time off or whatever, but I don’t think I have any excuses. A couple mistakes I made were mental mistakes, and you would think after that time off, there would be physical ones. I have to be better, and I’ll be better next game, that’s for sure."

Stuart said he had no issues getting back his stamina or the physical element of his game, but he reiterated that he just wasn’t there emotionally and mentally, which is unlike the traditionally passionate and steady rear guard.

"I felt OK but didn’t get completely in the game," Stuart said. "For some reason, I couldn’t quite get there, but that will come."

Bruins head coach Claude Julien wasn't quite as hard on Stuart. They saw a guy who tried hard but who naturally needs a little time to get back to normal.

"He hasn’t played in a while, and there are going to be those glitches going in," Julien said. "So I don’t have anything negative to say about him."

Rask wasn’t about to blame Stuart for some bad luck, either. Instead, he was impressed with the defenseman's effort.

"I can’t analyze one player, but he didn’t make any mistakes," Rask said. "Tough break there when the puck hit his stick and [deflected into the] goal. But, you know, he obviously recognizes when he doesn't play his best, and if he says that, maybe he wants to do something else, but I thought he played a good game."

Stuart will have to just put this one behind him and get ready for Game 5 at the TD Garden on Monday night, where the Bruins will get their second chance to close out this series. Given Friday's battle, Stuart knows that won’t be an easy task.

"I think we have to play just like the guys did in the first three games," he said. "We’re still doing good things and we’re going back to our home building. But it’s not going to get any easier. We’re going to see a lot from [the Flyers] of what we saw in this game."