Well, that was a tough one, all the more so because it felt unnecessary. It felt like the Bruins dominated through a period and a half, but penalties and taking the foot off the gas did them in. Ah, well. Not to get hockey philosophical about this, but sometimes you have a subpar game, and win against one of the best teams in the league (like Thursday), and sometimes you play well for a lot of a game, and then lose in last couple of minutes. C'est la vie dans le hockey, I suppose. But seriously, no more late, stupid penalties, guys.
The Good:
-The first period. The Bruins dominated possession, they scored on the powerplay, they executed in all three zones. Delightful.
-Torey Krug continues to be a stud.
-The LIK line (I refuse to call it the KIL line). They now have 12 (Krejci), 11 (Lucic), and 8 (Iggy) points on the season, respectively. Is it a bit concerning that the bulk of the scoring is coming from one line? Sure, but hey, at least it's coming from ANY line.
-At one point halfway through the second period, the line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Reilly had FF% close of 100%. They had not allowed a single Fenwick event (a shot on goal or a missed shot) against while on the ice. That's bananas.
The Ugly:
-The last half of the second period. In a happy marriage of stats and the eye-test, the Bruins pulled back both in shot attempts and in overall play -- there was a noticeable decline in both over the course of the second.
-The PK's inevitable tumble back to earth.
-The last two minutes OH GOD PTSD.
-It bears repeating: the penalty kill was really gross, friends.
Next up:
The Bruins (who lost to an inferior team tonight) play the Penguins (who lost to an inferior team tonight). Should be fun.
GIF of the night, courtesy of Phony: