The Bruins appeared to have the Kraken right where they wanted them heading into the third period of Thursday’s game.
Boston trailed Seattle 2-0, a familiar situation for the Bruins this season. But the outcome was different than what they were used to and ended up losing 3-0 at TD Garden.
We’ve seen the Bruins go into the final 20 minutes trailing their opponent several times this season, so there probably was some optimism Thursday night when they were down two goals to Seattle.
But Martin Jones was a brick wall between the pipes — especially during a 6-on-5 when the Bruins pulled Linus Ullmark with five minutes to go — and Boston couldn’t buy a goal despite two minutes of zone time in the final minutes of the third period.
It was the B’s first loss in regulation on home ice this season. It was bound to happen at some point, and while head coach Jim Montgomery knows there’s something to be said going 23 games before losing in regulation at home, he pinpointed what went wrong in the third.
“It’s our first (regulation) loss at home. It’s our 23rd game of the year. I guess we’re fortunate in one way,” Montgomery told reporters after the loss. “We’re not happy about how we played, and we’ll address it (Friday), we’ll regroup, and we’ll be better Saturday night.
“I don’t think at any point we were negative. I felt there was a belief the whole time that we were gonna come back. The biggest difference I noticed from previous games was in the third period we didn’t have the charge in us, so that just tells me our batteries are low.”
The Bruins were playing their first game after a three-game, six-day road trip out west. Even with a few extra days before the Kraken came to town, it’s not a surprise there was some “mental fatigue” that the B’s were dealing with.
Next up for Boston is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET on Saturday.
