BOSTON — The Bruins’ five-game win and nine-game point streaks were snapped by a hungrier, harder-working Columbus Blue Jackets team Saturday night at TD Garden.
Columbus entered Saturday 15 points behind Boston for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and on a four-game skid. As the more desperate team, the Blue Jackets won the majority of the puck battles in all three zones, did a great job protecting the slot and blocked more shots to grab a 3-1 victory.
It was the type of blue-collar effort the B’s should have expected from the Blue Jackets after winning 4-3 in a shootout and losing 6-2 in the previous meetings against them this season.
“We’re all aware that’s the style they play, and that’s the way you need to play against them to have success,” Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said. “It’s definitely disappointing to see tonight. We definitely got the result we deserved from the way we played.”
The Bruins did have a 56-43 shot attempt edge at even strength and put four more shots on net (35-31) than the Blue Jackets. Most of those shots came from the perimeter, though, and B’s head coach Claude Julien didn’t believe his team worked hard enough to get to the front of the net.
“I’m gonna be honest here, I’m disappointed,” Julien said. “I don’t care, six wins in a row, whatever, we just can’t afford to have those kind of outings. Disappointed that we didn’t come to play harder than we did (Saturday night) and we wanted to take the easy way out. When we do that, we’re not successful.
“We’re a north-south type of team, we backcheck hard, we forecheck hard, and we make things happen by taking pucks to the net. Tonight, we weren’t willing to do that. When we got into the battle, you could tell they wanted it more than us. We’ve gotta accept the blame and the responsibility. We weren’t good enough tonight, and we shouldn’t accept that.”
In addition to not battling hard enough, the Bruins also were too cute in the attacking zone. Trying to make the perfect play isn’t a winning strategy against any team, especially one that’s playing the second game of a back-to-back and starting its backup goaltender.
“You’re gonna be cute, like I said, and try and overpass, you’re not gonna get the results,” Julien said. “That’s not how we’ve had success in the past. I don’t think that’s how we’re gonna get success in the future.”
The Bruins will travel for games against the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche before the All-Star break begins. Similar to Columbus, those two Western Conference opponents are on the outside of the playoff picture and will be desperate for two points.
The Bruins must have a higher level of energy, focus and execution if they are to enter the All-Star break on a high note.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while, like we’re going to take every game like it’s the most important game of the year,” Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said. “I’m going back to our old game and how we want to play this game, and when the effort is that, it’s a huge step back. It’s a tough one to swallow.
“But, you know, there’s more hockey left, so we just have to try to regain that confidence and that work ethic we had there and try to recapture it.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
