Last-Second Loss To Coyotes ‘Good Motivator’ For Bruins

The Boston Bruins probably didn’t need any extra motivation heading into a rematch Sunday with the Vegas Golden Knights, but they received some thanks to a bizarre loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.

The Bruins, who still own the best record in the NHL at 21-4-1, outplayed the Coyotes for large stretches — Boston held a 46-16 shot advantage — but yielded the game-winning goal with 13.5 seconds left in regulation. The tally came immediately after a controversial non-icing call that many on the Bruins thought the referees got wrong.

It was a stunning defeat to a Coyotes team that came in on a six-game losing streak and situated in second-to-last place in the Central Division, but the outcome does have one benefit.

“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth, which I think is a good motivator for us going into Vegas, a team that beat us at home,” Bruins forward Nick Foligno told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “I think we’ll regroup here, have a good day of practice and get ready for a big game to finish out the road trip the right way. So, that’s all you can do. You got to take the good things that we did out of this game, which is a lot of things, and make sure we’re just a little sharper in things.”

While Foligno believes the Bruins “dominated” the Coyotes, he understands that there’s always something to learn from a loss, which in this instance was Boston allowing too many quality chances to Arizona.

“I think that’s something we can take away is when you do have the puck that much, there’s just moments where you don’t get it in deep and that’s all they need,” Foligno said. “That seemed to be the case tonight where a little play where you don’t get it in or they have a little bit of life and then they think they’re in the game. That’s just a little understanding for our group where we’re normally a very good team in understanding circumstances and game management, but tonight it cost us a little bit. It’s unfortunate.”

The Bruins will look to exact some revenge and get that bad taste out of their mouths when they go against the Golden Knights, who handed Boston its first home loss of the season earlier this week.