The Boston Bruins lost the lead in the final seconds of regulation. Then, they lost the game in a shootout and their playoff position to the Ottawa Senators.
Curiously, Bruins captain Brad Marchand never saw the ice during overtime or the shootout. Interim head coach Joe Sacco told reporters in Ottawa that Marchand wasn’t hurt; it was a coach’s decision to have the team’s second-leading scorer not log any shifts in the extra session.
Marchand had just one shot on goal and two giveaways across 19:20 of ice time in the Bruins’ loss. He looked fatigued down the stretch. In the final moments of the third period, Marchand didn’t play his normal pest-like game as the Bruins tried to contain the Senators, who were desperately seeking an equalizer.
With its goaltender pulled for the extra attacker, Ottawa scored two goals in the final 3:01 of regulation to knot the game 5-5.
“We didn’t execute well enough under pressure when they had six on five,” Sacco said, per team-provided video. “We had an opportunity below the goal line there, on the fourth goal, I think it was, and we weren’t able to get it out. We had a breakdown in our coverage in the slot.
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“We had an opportunity to make it 6-3, and we didn’t put it in the back of the net on the other end, so we just have to be better at defending that lead at six-on-five. I don’t know really what else to say. I mean, we can’t give up slot chances like that. I give them credit. They were hungry, but we have to do a better job. We have to make sure that we get the puck out of our zone.”
In a common theme over the last three games, the Bruins were outshot 44-28 in the contest. Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves, including three big stops in overtime.
“He gave us a chance to win again,” Sacco said. “All you can ask from your goaltender, and he did that again. We’ve got to cut down on certain scoring opportunities to help him out.”
The Bruins and Senators will meet for the third time this season on Thursday night in Boston. Ottawa bested Boston in overtime on Nov. 9 at TD Garden.
