For 20 minutes in the middle of the Bruins’ 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Boston looked invincible.
The other 40 minutes? Well, not so much.
Boston sleep walked through the first period, allowing two goals to the lame-duck Red Wings. Then, after a three-goal resurgence from then B’s in the second, they allowed four unanswered goals in the third, including two in an eight-second span.
Detroit, while winners in seven of its last eight, are dead in the water, eliminated from playoff contention. Meanwhile, Boston still is fighting for a Game 1 in Boston rather than in Toronto when the playoffs start April 11.
Did the Bruins think they’d done enough to save themselves in the second? Brad Marchand seemed to think as much.
“You know maybe we got a little overconfident there, but they made some plays and we were a little loose,” Marchand told reporters after the game via the Bruins’ official Twitter. “We’ve gotta be a little tighter there, especially against a team with that speed and skill.”
Coach Bruce Cassidy echoed those statements.
“I thought we were a little disrespectful in the first period and probably in the third, against a team that can score, is playing well lately,” Cassidy said. “They made us play, but every good chance seems to go in the net lately so we’re going to have to correct something.”
It was a nightmare weekend for the Bruins, who dropped three-goal games to two non-playoff teams on back-to-back days. Luckily, the back-to-backs are over for the B’s, who have three games left to play.
Boston holds a six-point advantage over the Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division, with Toronto holding a game in hand.
Here are some other notes from Sunday’s Bruins-Red Wings game:
— Marchand became the Bruins’ all-time leader in short-handed goals with 26.
Marchand tied the game up at 2-2 in the second with a one-timed snipe on a two-on-one rush with Patrice Bergeron (shocker).
Brad Marchand is now the #NHLBruins all-time leading shorthanded goal scorer. Congrats, @Bmarch63! pic.twitter.com/1nlccbnUQ5
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 1, 2019
But the play as a whole was an absolute beauty, with Brandon Carlo taking advantage of a Detroit line change, and lofting a lengthy pass to Marchand to spark the rush.
— Marchand now is at 98 points on the season with three games to play.
The Bruins have not had a player reach the century mark since Joe Thornton notched 101 points in 2002-03. He could become the 12th Bruin to hit that mark.
— Chris Wagner sat out Sunday’s game with a lower-body injury. He has been listed as day-to-day.
Karson Kuhlman was slotted into the lineup in Wagner’s place, starting the game alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. But the 23-year-old played just 9:57, spending 46 seconds on the penalty kill and registering two shots on goal.
— Kevan Miller, who had missed the previous 16 games, checked back in with an assist. The defenseman threw a puck on net that David Backes tipped in for the goal.
Miller trailed his fellow blue liners with 15:20 time on ice.
— Krejci had two assists in the loss.
It was his 16th multi-point game of the season, as the center has continued to perform regardless of who plays on his wing.
