The Bruins put together a valiant effort in the third period, and while the typical resiliency wasn't lost on head coach Jim Montgomery, the fact Boston allowed four unanswered goals to start Sunday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings didn't sit too well.
After the Bruins dropped the second game of the home-and-home by a 5-3 verdict, Montgomery told NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley that Boston's lack of desire to win 1-on-1 battles and be first on pucks was noticeable and disappointing.
"I think we were very lackluster with our effort in the first two periods," Montgomery said. "It was nice to see us have a good push even down 4-1 and make it a game of it, but it was too little too late."
The Red Wings took a 4-0 lead at 15:08 of the second period and three-goal lead into the final 20 minutes. Detroit finished with a pair of power-play goals and tallied one on its penalty kill, marking the second straight game the Red Wings scored shorthanded against the Black and Gold.
"We just got to be honest with ourselves and we're not putting forth the effort that we expect from ourselves," Montgomery said. "And this is isn't the first game here, the Calgary game was a little similar and we were tired that day, but there's no excuse to be tired because Detroit had the same schedule as us."
Boston split the back-to-back with Detroit following a 3-2 victory Saturday night.
Here are more takeaways from Bruins-Red Wings:
-- The feeling of frustration given the start but optimism given the resiliency was on display in the dressing room, too. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who scored one goal and added one assist, was among those feeling that way.
"I thought they played really well, too," Grzelcyk said when asked about Detroit outscoring Boston 3-1 in the second period, as seen on NESN. "They were all over us. They were checking really well. I think we were just not willing to put pucks behind them and then turning a few over that just gave them, even if they didn't score they were getting possession out of it and made it tough for the next guys to come over. We're all guilty of it. Like I said, I think it's something we can correct."
-- Tyler Bertuzzi returned to Little Caesars Arena for the first time as a member of the opposing team. The veteran winger, who Boston acquired ahead of the NHL trade deadline, admitted it was a weird experience being in the opposing locker room.
"It was definitely different, emotional," Bertuzzi said, as seen on NESN. "It was good to be back. Like I said it was very nice of them to do that for me. I was grateful for my time here.
"Once the game is going on you kind of forget about everything," he added. "So I just tried to go with it and play hockey."
-- Despite the sluggish performance Sunday, it's obviously not time to sound the alarms on the NHL-leading Bruins. Boston now is 7-3 on the second night of a back-to-back this season, nevertheless a testament to their depth.
-- There were a pair of situations in which it looked like the Bruins could be hindered further by injuries.
Early in the contest, Brandon Carlo went crashing into the boards as he slid in an attempt to stop a Detroit breakaway. Carlo seemingly got tripped on the pad of goaltender Jeremy Swayman as he tried to return to his feet and crashed hard into the boards. Carlo remained in the game and played 17:03.
Patrice Bergeron also took a stick high to the throat in the first period. Boston's captain remained in the game, as well, playing 17:19.
-- The Bruins will continue their five-game road trip Tuesday night as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch it live on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.
