The Boston Bruins entered Monday staring at a tough four-game road trip, but it didn’t begin the way they wanted.
Boston fell 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre ahead of a three-game stretch where they’ll face the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
Patrice Bergeron tallied Boston’s first goal in his first game back from a lower-body injury. Jake DeBrusk notched goal No. 7 of the season late in the third.
Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for the Bruins, while Anders Nilsson turned away 38 shots for Ottawa.
Here’s how it all went down:
BRUINS DOWN EARLY
Ottawa jumped on Boston right off the bat, getting a goal from Artem Anisimov (his fourth of the year) just 1:35 into the game.
Artem Anisimov's backhand is absolutely lethal. pic.twitter.com/3py1KSCFPc
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2019
The two sides would trade rushes for a majority of the period before Anthony Duclair’s 14th goal of the season gave the Senators a 2-0 lead with 4:56 left in the first. But the Bruins wouldn’t go silently into the first intermission.
David Pastrnak fed Bergeron on a swift 2-on-1 roughly two minutes later, setting the 34-year-old up for an easy goal in his first game back to put the Bruins on the board. Brad Marchand also assisted the goal, allowing the entire first line to get on the scoresheet.
The big three are back!
Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) ?
David Pastrnak (@pastrnak96) ?
Patrice Bergeron ? pic.twitter.com/RKXwIYvnLs— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2019
Ottawa outshot Boston 14-8 after one.
PLENTY OF CHANCES, NO RESULTS
The Senators didn’t waste much time in the second, either, scoring less than 90 seconds in on a sequence that Rask likely will want back. Chris Tierney buried one after Duclair rushed Rask behind the crease, who was lackadaisically playing the puck after it was dumped in. Duclair got it to Vladislav Namestnikov who hit Tierney with the feed, resulting in Ottawa’s third goal of the night.
Nilsson stood on his head for multiple stretches throughout the rest of the period, keeping the Senators’ lead at two with impressive save after save.
That's the paddle we're looking for, Anders Nilsson. ? pic.twitter.com/b7dyHaUc0o
— NHL (@NHL) December 10, 2019
The Bruins had three power-play chances in the second but were unable to capitalize on any of the opportunities.
Thanks to the man-advantage chances, Boston outshot the Senators 16-9 in the period.
COMING UP EMPTY
Monday simply wasn’t the Bruins night, as they failed to get anything going in the third. Nilsson remained solid in net, preventing Boston’s forwards from cutting into the deficit.
Ottawa went up 4-1 with 2:58 left in regulation on an empty-net goal from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, effectively wrapping this one up.
DeBrusk would score with just over two minutes left, with assists from Pastrnak and Marchand, making it 4-2.
Duclair snuck in a final tally with one second left for Ottawa’s fifth goal of the night.
UP NEXT
The Bruins continue their four-game road trip Wednesday with a matchup against the Washington Capitals. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.
