Bruins vs. Leafs 10/19/19 RECAP: B’s come up short in tight game, lose in overtime 4-3

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First Period:

The Bruins did not start great. At all.

Back to back shifts with the B’s caught in their own end, Halak having to save them more than once, and then finally the Leafs broke through 5 minutes into the period on a weird bounce that hit off of either the stick or the body of Andreas Johnsson and squeaked past Jaro. 1-0 Leafs.

Given how many golden opportunities this game provided for Toronto, it was a miracle Boston didn’t give up a goal sooner.

It wouldn’t get any better as the B’s were pinned in their end, and Sean Kuraly after having a miserable time trying to get the puck out from between his legs ended up turning the puck over and giving Dmitro Timashov his first NHL Goal. 2-0 Leafs.

Sloppy. Absolutely sloppy. It was a bad night to be a center for Boston.

Thankfully, Boston would get on the board with Jake Debrusk cashing in for his first of the season! 2-1 Leafs

The reason Wagner was out there was because Karson Kuhlman had taken a puck and was limping considerably. He wouldn’t actually play much afterwards, logging about 9:19 total.

Onto the 2nd!

2nd Period:

Thus began the period of power plays.

And also the B’s tightening up a bit, and playing a lot better than they had been. Regrettably, Andersen was totally willing to hang.

The only real thing of note was that David Backes ran into Frederik Andersen and the resulting scrum (because running into any goalie is generally considered a bad), somehow got the Bruins out of that with a 4-on-4 because Martin Marincin hit Backes especially hard or something.

The B’s came away from this situation in a much better spot than they started. They even ended the period on the man advantage thanks to Marincin again!

3rd Period:

...and then they scored on that power play! Danton Heinen cashed in about a minute-thirty into the 3rd period to tie the game at 2!

Excellent patience to force Andersen to move first. Hopefully his ex-linemate doesn’t flub the puck with one of the Leafs better handed playe-

...oh COME ON, guys. 3-2 Leafs.

Thankfully, with time winding down, the Bruins faithful called out for a Legend to save them.

Thankfully, we live in legendary times in hockey.

This first line seems to know the exact time in which to come alive and crush Toronto’s hopes and dreams. 3-3 Tie.

And with that, the B’s and Leafs would go to Overtime!

Overtime:

They spent most of their time running around in their own end, at one point had two defenders out on the ice (ones that you would want in a situation like this, mind you but still), and then Mitch Marner put the game away. 4-3 Bruins Lose.

Oh well. Still got a point, and still get a crack at them on Tuesday. They can avenge this.

Game Notes:

• Not a great result, but the B’s largely controlled the game for large stretches even without David Krejci and with a depth that largely comprises of spare parts. If they get a chance with an even slightly healthier roster, they win this. Maybe it’d be the same kind of frustrating, but they’d probably have the W. OT can be tough, and 3-on-3 is a crapshoot.
• Bad day for Halak but then again...team defense wasn’t a priority in this game.
• Now, with all that being said...The depth of this team has got to start producing. They did fine, but they also didn’t help matters in a game the Bruins were trailing for long stretches. Chris Wagner is a good temporary fix for suddenly losing Kuhlman, but Kuhlman was in the exact same boat even before he got hurt, and Wagner was good for a shift (one where DeBrusk scored) before he stopped having much to do with anything good that line did tonight. Sean Kuraly cannot be giving up golden scoring chances to the other team. It was a dumb, sloppy game across the lineup but the dumbest and sloppiest offenders were on lines 2 through 4. Tuesday better be some players playing because their ice time depends on it.
• SPEAKING OF WHOM...Charlie Coyle will probably be joining Sean Kuraly as the unhappiest man in the film room on Monday as he’ll have to relive one of the worst nights he’s had as a Bruin. A dude that defensively gifted cannot be having this much trouble, even in a game he finished above 50% in possession.
• On the positive side, Danton Heinen was finally rewarded for doing all the little things right with a goal, and Jake DeBrusk made it clear the team he plays the best against is Toronto, as he had a goal and 5 shots. Had Andersen not been on fire, he’d have likely had more.
• Chara-McAvoy were perfectly balanced time on ice leaders, with McAvoy having a minute more time than Chara.
• David Backes’ bad dumb no good very bad penalty got him stapled to the bench tonight. Less than 7 minutes across all situations. Given how this game went and who ended up being preferable to the team to be 2nd line RW in Kuhlman’s absence, That does not bode well for him at all.
• Seriously, call somebody up. Anybody up. Spook the depth into playing better.

The B’s get a couple days off, then do this nonsense all over again on Tuesday in TD Garden at 7pm.

Let’s get ‘em next time.