The dust settled, and the Boston Bruins (1-3) were left picking through the pieces after a humiliating 6-1 loss in Game 4 on home ice against the Buffalo Sabres (3-1).
The loss puts Boston's back firmly against the wall, facing elimination in Game 5 against the Sabres.
The loss unraveled early, with Buffalo jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, Boston's largest-ever deficit after the first period in the playoff history.
It's also the first time they've allowed 4+ goals in the first period since the Hartford Whalers did it 35 years ago in the 1991 postseason.
Charlie McAvoy summed up the mood pretty succinctly postgame:
"Man to man in here, if we're not f***ing embarrassed with what just happened, then I don't know what to say.”
Jeremy Swayman, who seemingly pulled himself in the third period after Buffalo made it 6-0, barked at his bench, letting his team have it for hanging him out to dry.
Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm defended his goalie:
"At least one guy [had some fire]," Sturm said. "It was not his fault today, I can tell you that. I felt bad for him. That's why we kept him in there for a while, because he's a battler, he wants to be in."
Hampus Lindholm practically apologized to Swayman for the effort in his postgame media scrum.
"Sway's been playing great for us all series," Lindholm said. "I think he deserved us to play way better in front of him, but like you said, it got away from us, and in front of our home fans, it's frustrating."
David Pastrnak took the frustration to an even higher level.
"Waste of opportunity," Pastrnak said. "Unacceptable. We expect better from ourselves. We are better than that. We can't show up like this.
"In an afternoon game, the first period is so f***ing important, you can win and lose games, and to show up like that as a team, first period unacceptable."
Elias Lindholm became the fourth Bruin to call their effort embarrassing postgame.
"First period was embarrassing," Elias Lindholm said. "They played some good hockey, and we just keep turning it over to them."
"We looked very disconnected, very spread out. One guy had the puck, and four guys kind of waited for something to happen instead of being available."
It was a scathing tongue-lashing from every corner of Boston's leadership group, all of whom took accountability for the effort, including Sturm.
"It starts with me," Sturm said. "It starts with our leaders on the ice. Those are the guys. I can't expect the young guys to turn the ship and get us out of this."
The loss marked Boston's fifth-consecutive home loss in the playoffs, with the last win coming in Game 7 of the 2024 first-round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dating back to 2023, the Bruins are 2-10 in TD Garden in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a shockingly brutal home record.
The Bruins will look to keep their 2025-26 season alive with a win on the road in Game 5 against the Sabres, with puck drop coming just after 7:30 on Tuesday night.