Bruins Notes: Boston Takes Positives From OT Loss To Rangers

BOSTON — The margin of victory is incredibly narrow when the game shifts to overtime. The Boston Bruins know about that all too well as of late.

The Bruins went to overtime for a third straight game Saturday night, but didn’t have the winning touch, falling to the New York Rangers, 2-1, at TD Garden. It’s the second overtime loss for the Bruins in their last three games.

Despite coughing up a third-period lead and ultimately coming out with another narrow defeat, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was encouraged by his team’s overall performance.

“Going in 1-0, you’d like to get two points, but you look at the adversity within the game that we faced, really proud of our group and the desperation that we played with, the togetherness,” Montgomery said. “We are shorthanded because of some of the injuries we have, but a lot of guys just playing with great compete and I think they’re resiliency it shows. We’re building some good things here with a lot of people getting minutes that normally wouldn’t of if we were healthy. There’s a lot of positive to draw from it, but in the end, we’d like to get the two points.”

In a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins missed their firepower. Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha continue to be out due to injuries and the Bruins were without David Pastrnak for the entire third period due to a game misconduct penalty.

But the Bruins fought — sometimes literally with Trent Frederic dropping the gloves with Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in the second period — trying to grind their way to a win with players being asked to do more because of three large absences.

“I like our effort,” Charlie Coyle said. “Some key injuries and I think a lot of guys stepped up. It’s good to see the effort and guys taking on a little more responsibility with the injuries and going down your best player. That can be a tough task, but I thought we responded pretty well.”

Bruins captain Brad Marchand echoed the sentiments of Montgomery and Coyle. And while the end results haven’t always been there over the past few games, Marchand is pleased with the team’s form.

“I think we’re starting to play a better overall game,” Marchand said. “We’re starting to compete in different areas and be better in areas that we’re kind of talking about. When you lose some of your top guys, it definitely impacts the group, especially the key players that they are. Having them out hurts for sure, but I think our game’s coming and we’re doing some good things, but we got to keep building.”

Here are more notes from Saturday’s Bruins-Rangers game:

— The Bruins committed eight penalties, leading to six power-play chances for the Rangers. New York only cashed in on one of those opportunities, but it was at an important moment as Vincent Trocheck scored on the man-advantage midway through the third period to level the score.

— Pastrnak was sent off the ice with 1:50 left in the second period as he received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a boarding call on Ryan Lindgren. Montgomery clearly disagreed with the severity of the call.

“Very surprised,” Montgomery said. “I thought it was two minutes.”

— Jeremy Swayman still has lost only once in regulation this season as he owns a 9-1-4 record. His 32-save effort made that possible.

— Matthew Poitras briefly went to the locker room in the second period after taking an awkward fall into the boards following a hit from Erik Gustafsson. Poitras, who didn’t play Friday night against the Islanders, returned shortly after and finished with 14:44 of ice time. He also registered an assist for Frederic’s goal early in the second period.

“You’re always worried when a player leaves the bench, but it was just a stinger. So, he’s fine,” Montgomery said. “I thought he played really well. I thought he was good in all three zones and I thought he had a lot of juice in his legs. He skated really well, carrying the puck well.”

— The Bruins are back in action Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.