Recap: Bruins fall apart late in 4-3 OT loss to Anaheim

Everything was going pretty well...until it wasn’t.

The Bruins took a 3-1 lead late into the third period before Anaheim scored twice with an empty net to tie it, then Mason McTavish scored midway through overtime to give the Ducks a 4-3 win.

The loss was the Bruins’ first of the season and was an unfortunate reminder of the slightly more calamitous loss that ended last season.

The B’s were down 1-0 after the first period, but rode the strength of a three-goal third period to be comfortably in control late.

A Patrick Brown holding penalty with 3:59 left in the game gave Anaheim some life, and they made the Bruins pay.

Radko Gudas pings a shot off of Hampus Lindholm’s skate and into the net to make it 1-0 Ducks late in the first.

Charlie Coyle takes advantage of a fouled-off David Pastrnak shot to make it a 1-1 game in the second period.

Matt Grzelcyk added another just over a minute later, making it 2-1 Bruins.

Pastrnak followed his shot and put home the rebound to make it 3-1 Bruins with four minutes left in the second period.

Things were looking pretty good...annnnnnnnnnnnd then it all fell apart!

The Ducks pulled their goalie while on a late power play, and Leo Carlsson cashed in just as the penalty expired to make it a 3-2 game.

Troy Terry threw a puck towards the net, where it deflected off of Brad Marchand’s stick and in to make it a 3-3 game with 15 seconds left.

After barely possessing the puck in overtime, Carlsson and Mason McTavish convert on a 2-on-1 to end it. 4-3 Ducks.

Game notes

• Well, that was ugly! You can point to fortunate bounces all you want (the Bruins benefited from a friendly bounce on the Coyle goal too), but there’s no excuse for blowing a two-goal lead with less than two minutes left.
• There are plenty of mistakes to point to in this one: a late penalty that opened the door, failed clearances when Anaheim had the empty net, etc. The Ducks do deserve credit for sticking with it, however, and for getting enough pucks toward net with the extra attacker to cash in.
• I wondered in this morning’s preview if Leo Carlsson, he of NHL Load Management, would play tonight, and he sure did. The 18-year-old Swede had a goal and an assist (on the game-winning goal) in just over 22 minutes of ice time.
• Radko Gudas was back in the building and terrible things happen in the last minutes of the game again. I think it’s time we ban Gudas.
• You can’t fault Jake DeBrusk for trying to make something happen in OT, but it may have been a better decision to peel back and let the Bruins have a spell of possession instead of charing forward on a one-man rush. The Bruins had barely touched the puck in the first two minutes of overtime, and they wouldn’t touch it again after DeBrusk’s giveaway.
• Matt Poitras had another assist tonight and landed two shots on goal in a little over 15 minutes TOI.
• Jesper Boqvist, playing in his first game as a Bruin, skated just over six minutes on the night. Patrick Brown skated 7:44, while Johnny Beecher skated 9:33.
• The loss was Linus Ullmark’s first regular season loss since March 28.

The B’s will be back in action on Saturday night, hosting the Detroit Red Wings — their first Eastern Conference opponent of the season.