Bruins lose 4-3 in a shootout

Coming back from a nine-day break, Bruins fans have never been more excited for a Tuesday night game against a non-conference opponent. The Bruins set forth a dominant first period. A few minutes into the affair, the Bruins were able to make the most of their efforts. Brad Marchand drew two defenders to him, leaving Patrice Bergeron open in the slot for a one-timer.

In the second half of the period, the Jets showed some life. After Brandon Carlo went to the box for cross checking, the Jets didn’t waste any time tying the game up.

A few minutes later, the Bruins would get a chance on the powerplay before the conclusion of the first period. After a bundle of chances and zone time, Pastrnak put a one-time shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

The second period didn’t feature much. Kevan Miller answered the bell to Adam Lowry.

And Trent Frederic became a fan favorite fighting Brandon Tanev.

The third period is where all of the action happened. With the Bruins controlling play, and the Jets playing in Philadelphia last night, it seemed as though the game was the Bruins to lose. The Jets came out flying, winning puck battles and scoring goals.

Kyle Connor, a player the Bruins passed up on in the 2015 draft, not only tied the game but took the lead.

After having the wind taken out of their sales, the Bruins were able to tie the game before the end of regulation thanks to Patrice Bergeron.

The game couldn’t be settled in regulation nor overtime. Kyle Connor scored the only goal in the shootout, giving the Jets the 4-3 win.

Game Notes

• As Bruce Cassidy said after the game, “There are more positives than negatives,” in regard to this game. Outside of a couple of breakdowns that resulted in goals, the Bruins were solid all night long. They exited their zone well, controlled the puck through the neutral zone, and sustained offensive zone time which resulted in some quality scoring chances.
• I’m not sure if it’s right to call Halak’s performance poor, but the Bruins needed a big save out of him. While the Morrissey goal wasn’t, Kyle Connor’s goals were very high-quality. It’s very easy to say, “If he only save [blank],” but when you consider Halak’s play has been slipping, he needed a big save.
• Trent Frederic’s debut wasn’t that impressive. He surely won the hearts of Bruins fans with his fight, but looked lackluster outside of that. He was slow, both physically and in reading plays, which was reflected in his ice time (8:28).
• The Bruins first powerplay was poor. The Jets pressured the Bruins on entry which made it hard for them to set up. Patrice Bergeron won the faceoffs on the second powerplay which helped a lot. The Bruins also had a lot more movement in their powerplay throughout the rest of the game and made quick passes which eased the pressure they were receiving.
• The Bruins also seemed to stretch the play more than usual tonight. While certain teams use stretch passes frequently, the Bruins do not. Bruce Cassidy focuses on controlling the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone. The Bruins used the stretch pass enough to force the Winnipeg defensemen to stay honest. The Jets weren’t able to activate their defensemen in the offensive zone, leading to low quality shots.