The Bruins were able to tie the game in the third period, but ultimately fell 3-2 to the Flyers Saturday afternoon on the road.
The Boston Bruins were not good Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The 3-2 loss at Wells Fargo Center featured a lackluster offensive effort, spotty defensive coverage and a missing will-to-win attitude in end-of-season matchups. While the B’s found some spark in the latter half of the third period, they weren’t able to contain a Flyers squad that simply had more desperation in its play.
Justin Brazeau continued to impress as a bottom-six big man, Danton Heinen netted a tying third-period goal and Linus Ullmark put up 26 saves, but the Bruins never truly found their team game and struggled because of it.
“I just told the team, it’s what we’ve got to get used to. It’s what it’s going to be for the rest of the year,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said to the media Saturday. “You have to have second and third efforts to create offense, and have to be desperate getting back above pucks defensively.”
Brad Marchand took a knee-on-knee hit from Erik Johnson in the first period, however the play went uncalled. The Bruins captain subsequently got sent to the box at 14:00 for unsportsmanlike conduct after giving the referees a piece of his mind on the dangerous collision.
Boston got two looks on the man advantage in the opening frame but failed to convert on either against a Flyers’ penalty kill that ranks third in the NHL at 84.6 percent. A James van Riemsdyk holding call at 18:40 put the Bruins on the PK to start the second period, and they fended off Philadelphia’s league-worst power play.
The Flyers opened scoring at the end of the middle frame while Andrew Peeke sat in the box for high-sticking. Tyson Foerster’s whiffed shot from the high slot found Travis Konecny by the left doorstep who lifted it past Linus Ullmark for the 1-0 lead at 18:15.
“It was a playoff-type game. They’re fighting to get in, and obviously with the position we are in, we want the points too. It’s just a tight-checking game,” Peeke said to the media Saturday.
Boston logged 12 shots on goal through 40 minutes, signaling a sloppy and sluggish showing. The Bruins weren’t playing opportunistic hockey, and the Flyers capitalized on their only power play of the second to snatch the momentum heading into the final stanza.
It was a combined four-goal third period. Justin Brazeau found the 1-1 equalizer at 10:19 with a backhander while crashing the net. The play marked Brazeau’s fourth goal in three games as the 26-year-old rookie continues to make a strong case for himself as a permanent fourth-liner come playoff time.
“I think this game is all about confidence,” Brazeau said to reporters Saturday. “The more confidence you have, the more poise you have with the puck and ability to make plays.”
Konecny potted his second of the afternoon – and 30th of the season – at 15:16 to make it 2-1, but Danton Heinen responded less than a minute later with a snapshot from the left side to knot things 2-2.
Foerster picked up a goal of his own, and second point of the game, to regain the Flyers’ lead and bring the contest to its final 3-2 scoreline. The 22-year-old released a wrister off the rush to seal the victory and pad Philadelphia’s third-place positioning in the Metropolitan Division.
“That desperation is for sure there, you see it,” Heinen said to reporters Saturday. “And that’s something that we need to kind of match coming down the stretch.”
The Bruins are back in action Tuesday as they face the Florida Panthers for a 7 p.m. puck drop at Amerant Bank Arena.