After a hot start to the 2019-20 season, the Boston Bruins have cooled down some.
A 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders at TD Garden on Thursday certainly didn’t help the cause as Boston falls to 22-7-8. The Black and Gold now have lost seven of their last eight games, and currently own a four-game losing streak at TD Garden.
This is the first time the Bruins have lost four straight at home since Oct. 2015. Boston is 2-7 in games that go beyond regulation, and are a dismal 0-5 in shootouts this season.
So, yeah. Things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly.
That said, there’s still plenty of room for improvement with 45 games left on the schedule. And the team knows they can do more to “help right the ship,” according to Torey Krug.
But losing isn’t necessarily the end of the world.
“I’ve always thought in order to win in this league, you have to go through some losses,” Krug said after the game, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “And whether that’s a losing streak or you’re unable to win or your game kind of dips, in order to embrace wins and enjoy the feeling of winning, you’re going to have to go through those tough times. So that’s a part of it. … I don’t know what it is, but we’ve got to find a way to figure it out and fall in love with winning again.”
In fact, he seems to think this rough patch could help the B’s. (Wait, what?)
“I think we’ve got to hate to lose a little bit more because the more you hate to lose, the more you don’t accept these outcomes, and you don’t accept the way that you’re playing. You know, it starts with our leaders, and it’s a trickle-down effect to our depth players, and everyone has a big role on this team. So, let’s get back to (winning).”
Charlie Coyle seemed to agree, noting Boston must “stick to the process” if they want to succeed.
“This will help us,” the Weymouth, Mass. native said. “And if we want to get out of it, we’ve got to do it day by day.”
Here are some more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Islanders game:
— Despite the loss, Anders Bjork looked stellar.
The 23-year-old potted his fifth goal of the season (the 10th of his NHL career) 1:58 into Thursday’s game.
Just the right amount of flex here from Anders Bjork. pic.twitter.com/PgAExKiPSB
— NHL (@NHL) December 20, 2019
Bjork had several other chances (and good ones, at that) to net another goal, but couldn’t find the back of the net for a second time.
— Johnny Boychuk had himself a night, as well.
The ex-Bruins blueliner scored his first goal at TD Garden as a member of another team with a game-tying goal in the second period. (And yes, the “Johnny Rocket” moniker has stuck.)
Johnny Rocket! ?@NYIslanders | #NYIvsBOS pic.twitter.com/i16Jsqp9wV
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) December 20, 2019
Boychuk had an assist on Mathew Barzal’s second-period goal, as well.
— The Bruins have a chance to bounce back when they welcome the Nashville Predators to Boston on Saturday. Puck drop from TD Garden is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
