The Bruins gave up a goal with five seconds remaining in the third period before falling in overtime against the Lightning at Amalie Arena Monday night.
The Boston Bruins failed to close out Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it was a good lesson for the squad who has done a whole lot of winning to start the season.
A Steven Stamkos one-timer with five seconds left on the clock in the third period forced overtime in which Brandon Hagel dropped the puck five-hole on the breakaway to seal the 5-4 win at Amalie Arena.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery has been harping on the need for improvement defending the rush, cleaning up the small details and staying disciplined. Monday’s loss exposed those weaknesses in Boston’s game, and the group didn’t have a win to hide behind this time.
“I think we need to develop a little more poise and understanding of time and score and how to close out games,” Montgomery said to reporters postgame. “We weren’t really connected in the offensive zone and we were unfortunately not hanging onto pucks as much as we would like and that led to a lot of transition by [Tampa Bay].”
The Bruins held both a 3-2 and 4-3 lead in the third period thanks to goals from Johnny Beecher and Charlie Coyle after trailing in the second. However, the resilience wore off in the dwindling minutes of regulation as the B’s let up on the small things that win hockey games.
Beecher took a high sticking penalty at 17:40 – Boston’s seventh minor of the night – and Pavel Zacha had the opportunity to clear the puck at the blueline, but instead turned it over ahead of Stamkos’ tying tally. It’s not to say those two players lost the Bruins’ the game, but it was a microcosm of the mistakes made throughout the 60-plus minutes.
Before the Atlantic Division matchup, Montgomery acknowledged the need for discipline against a Tampa Bay team that came into the game with a 31.7 power play percentage (fourth best in the league). And, despite a wishy-washy night from the referees, the Bruins got in their own way, forced to kill off 14 minutes of Lightning man advantage.
“Those little minors, they can cost you especially against a team like that,” Coyle said to reporters postgame. “Keep [making] sure we’re doing the right things and build different parts of our game and that’s one of them that’s very important to us.”
Lightning forward Nicholas Paul netted the only power play goal of the contest for Tampa Bay at 19:30 of the second period to give his team a 2-1 advantage.
“We’ve got the best penalty kill in the league. It’s the second year in a row,” Montgomery said. “Joe Sacco does a great job, our players sacrifice for each other – it’s just unfortunate that we had to kill that much.”
If nothing else, Monday was a stark reminder for the Bruins that winning hockey doesn’t always mean you’re doing everything right, and good opponents will shine a light on areas for growth. Dropping to a 13-1-3 record, the B’s are facing some – arguably much needed – adversity and will have the chance to respond on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
Other Notes
Jeremy Swayman got his second consecutive start after playing Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. It was the Bruins’ first time breaking up the goalie rotation this season, and Montgomery said it was because Linus Ullmark “needed a little maintenance.” Swayman made 41 saves on 46 shots.
“I expect to play every game. That’s my mentality, that’s the way I want to prepare and I was fired up when I got this opportunity and I wanted to seize it,” Swayman said to reporters postgame. “It’s been over a year since I’ve been able to do that – so really excited about it but doesn’t change my mindset moving forward.”
Kevin Shattenkirk was out of the lineup Monday and Ian Mitchell slotted in for him on the third pair with Derek Forbort.