The Bruins may not technically be at the bottom of the league standings but it sure feels like they have found rock bottom after a 2-1 loss to rival Montreal Thursday night at the TD Garden.
Patrice Bergeron scored the lone goal for the Bruins while Tomas Plekanec and Erik Cole scored to put the Habs on top and leave to Bruins in second to last place in the league standings.
It was another frustrating night for the Bruins marked by periods of intense play and missed opportunities.
"I need to look further than just missed opportunities," head coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa after the game.
Ironically enough it was a Montreal mistake that put the Bruins on the board first. On a faceoff in the Montreal zone Plekanec inadvertently knocked the puck past an napping Carey Price after Bergeron broke his stick on the draw.
The Habs brought themselves back into the game though in the second period. With Mathieu Darche providing a screen Jaroslav Spacek took a shot from the top of the circle that an uncovered Erik Cole tipped past Tim Thomas. In the third Plekanec atoned for his previous mistake and put a quick wrist shot past Thomas to put Montreal ahead for good.
The highlight of the night, at least for Bruins fans was a long awaited bout between P.K. Subban and Brad Marchand. After multiple attempts to drop the gloves, resulting in to consecutive penalties for the pair, the smaller Marchand put it a spirited fight that ended in a draw.
But the energy was not enough to put the Bruins back ahead. They now sit at 3-6-0 on the season and head into a sure to be hostile Bell Centre for the final half of their home-and-home series.