The Bruins’ luck hasn’t been the best lately, to say the least.
Boston dropped its third game in a row Sunday night, falling 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers in game No. 1 of its two-game homestand. This is just their second loss at home.
Jaroslav Halak pushed away 27 of the 29 shots he faced for the B’s. Carter Hart stopped 26 for the Flyers.
The Bruins fell to 11-3-3 with the loss while the Flyers improved to 10-5-2.
Here’s how it all went down:
FLYERS FLYIN’
Things swung in the Flyers’ favor early.
Philly had Boston on its toes from the start, outshooting the B’s 14-5 in the first. The Flyers struck first with 6:10 left on the clock on Travis Konecny’s eighth goal of the season.
Boston had a chance to tie things up on a power play less than a minute later courtesy of a Joel Farabee high-sticking call, but the B’s failed to capitalize on the man-advantage.
Instead, Philly padded its lead with goal No. 2 of the period. This time, it was Phillipe Myers that potted one for the Flyers, ripping one past Halak for a 2-0 lead.
And just like that, Boston found itself in a 2-0 hole after just 20 minutes.
STILL NO LUCK
Not much changed for the B’s in the second frame.
Boston nearly made it a one-goal game less than three minutes into the frame as Zach Senyshyn and Par Lindholm crashed the net after Connor Clifton knocked Hart off his feet while putting the puck on net, but it never was officially ruled a goal. The refs reviewed the play, and the no-goal call stood.
The B’s did manage to kill one penalty in the second after David Pastrnak was whistled for hooking midway through the period. And while they held the Flyers to just six shots in the second, Boston took just five.
Philly maintained control for much of the period, missing a few good shots of its own along the way. The B’s only dominance came at the dot, winning nearly three-fourths of the faceoffs taken through the first 40 minutes.
Nevertheless, the Flyers managed to hang on to their two-goal lead, but there was still another full period left to play.
A GLIMMER OF HOPE
A little persistence paid off for the Bruins.
Danton Heinen gave the B’s a much-needed boost with 14:01 left to play, cutting the Flyers’ lead in half off a great feed by Charlie Coyle. The backhander marked his fourth goal of the season.
Suddenly, the Bruins found themselves down just one goal.
But Boston didn’t stop there.
Brad Marchand netted his 11th goal of the season with 7:38 left in the third, knotting things up at two goals apiece in the process.
Pastrnak had a chance to put the B’s ahead on a penalty shot with five minutes on the clock, but couldn’t lift the puck past a diving Hart. A tripping call on Oskar Lindblom gave Boston another shot at the lead, but the B’s just couldn’t find the back of the net on their second man-advantage of the night.
And off they went to overtime.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Neither team could find an edge in extra time.
The two squads went up and down the ice, swapping shots along the way. Things looked fairly even through the extra five minutes, but the B’s were called for too many men on the ice with just 21.5 seconds on the clock.
Thanks to a couple of nifty saves by Halak, the Bruins stayed alive. So, naturally, this one was decided in a shootout.
BOOOOO
After all the fuss, the Bruins couldn’t pull off the W.
The Flyers only needed to score one goal in the shootout, as Boston failed to score in all three rounds. Pastrnak had a chance to redeem himself in the third round, but ended the game on yet another ill-timed shot.
So much for the comeback.
UP NEXT
The Bruins welcome the Florida Panthers to TD Garden for the first time this season Tuesday evening, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.
