We all knew that this Bruins team would be operating at a talent deficit when they matched up against some of the best teams in the league.
But after the B’s absorbed their third straight loss on Saturday night, this time to high-flying Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, it’s clear that the depth players are doing their job for the most part. The B’s simply need much more from their top players.
Nathan MacKinnon outshined his star counterparts in Black and Gold, scoring two goals while the David Pastrnak line – this time featuring Pavel Zacha on the left wing instead of Morgan Geekie – took a minus-2 for the second straight night. The result was a 4-1 loss that was not as close as the score might indicate. It was their third straight loss after starting the season 3-0.
Coach Marco Sturm, whose team was tagged with 18 giveaways (led by Pastrnak and Geekie, who each had three) again lamented turnovers and not being ready in key situations.
“My grinders were the best players again,” Sturm told NESN. “And if your grinders are your best players instead of your best players, then you’re in trouble.”
The B’s were outshot 38-14, including 31-7 in the second and third periods. While the penalty kill was again strong (5-for-5), the power play went of 0-for-2. Pastrnak took five shots on the night, all of which were blocked.
Jeremy Swayman was very good in defeat, making 34 stops. As he always does, Swayman remained upbeat about the team after the game.
“I know this is going to turn,” said Swayman. “It’s because of the positivity we keep in this locker room, the belief we keep in this locker room, to a man. We see spurts in these games where we can be an elite hockey team. It will turn.”
The first period began much like the one in Vegas on Thursday as the B’s took the first lead of the game early – and, again, from the bottom six – just 3:11 into the game.
John Beecher, making his season debut, made a good play along the right boards to help the B’s get possession and he headed to the net. From the right point, Charlie McAvoy made a terrific diagonal pass and Beecher was able to one-time it home.
“That was all (McAvoy). I was just standing there,” Beecher told reporters in Denver.
The Avs were slow out of the gate and did not have a shot on net in the first seven minutes until the B’s got them into the game.
Pastrnak made the bad decision to circle back in the neutral zone toward his own blue line and was the last man back when his pass attempt was blocked by Arturri Lehkonen, who sent Nathan MacKinnon in on a partial breakaway. That was not a good development, clearly, and MacKinnon beat Swayman with a backhander at 7:08.
The Avs took the lead at 10:22. Gabe Landeskog beat Casey Mittelstadt cleanly in the right faceoff dot and Josh Manson scored on a slapper from the blue line.
The second featured utter territorial dominance by the Avalanche, aided by three power plays. They held a 17-2 shot advantage in the middle frame.
But Swayman and the penalty killers kept the B’s to within a goal. Swayman’s best stop came on a nightmarish MacKinnon-Martin Necas 2-on-1, stuffing Necas’ backdoor shot.
The Avs didn’t have to wait long to get the insurance goal in the third, coming just 4:14 into the period. Lehkonen played a give-and-go with MacKinnon on the right side and MacKinnon blasted a one-timer from the circle for the 3-1 lead.
Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood had not been busy for a while, but he came up with a great glove save on Beecher on an attempt from the slot that would have pulled the B’s to within a goal.
But they did not threaten much after that. Swayman was pulled for an extra skater with just under three minutes to go and Necas finished it off with an empty-netter.
The B’s, who did get Hampus Lindholm (minus-2 in 20:44 of icetime) back in the lineup from his lower body injury that kept him out of the previous three games, will try to salvage something out of this road trip when they visit the Utah Mammoth on Sunday (7 p.m.).
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