The Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] (2-0-0) came into TD Garden and pummeled the Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins] (2-2-0) early, with an end result of 4-1 being the final [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/game-day/senators-strike-early-shorthanded-blow-out-bruins-in-boston]. The Bruins trailed 4-0 after a little over 25 minutes. They'd given up one official shorthanded goal, and one that was scored a second after a power play ended. It was incredibly ugly, and not the type of effort the Bruins usually have on home ice. "The head wasn’t there today," Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm said. "I tried, but I knew we were not going anywhere today.” Sturm indicated he knew right away his team, playing their third game in four nights, all in different cities, just didn't have it. Sturm didn't want to use that as an excuse, but pointed to it as a contributing factor in the team's lethargic showing on Monday night. David Pastrnak, however, pointed it out as a major factor for the mental fatigue. "I don’t want to make excuses," Pastrnak said. "But it’s the third game in four days, the first time this year. It's always a little different at the start of the season. It’s all of us that have been struggling lately, and we just have to figure it out.” Still, Pastrnak said the Bruins needed to be a lot better and that it starts with him. Nikita Zadorov was less kind in his takeaways from the game. “There is no message [after the game]," Zadorov said. "Everybody knows. I mean, we dropped the ball at home. Didn’t come ready to play today. “You can see it from the first minute of the game," Zadorov continued. "I don’t know why. Obviously, we have one divisional game in the first 17 games. I think it’s important in the hardest division in the league to get those points, especially against the team who’s been dominating us for the past two years. So I think we should be automatically pissed off and ready, but we weren’t today. It’s on us to do the homework and make sure it never happens again.” Zadorov's on the money with observation about Boston's schedule. They don't play another divisional game all the way until November 8, when the Florida Panthers come to town. This is the only divisional game Boston had for over a month, and it went totally sideways. So, what went wrong for the Bruins? "Sway can only save so many two-on-ones and breakaways," Zadorov said. "It's on us to eliminate those scoring opportunities for the other team. We just got to get back to our identity. Our identity is playing really good, structured, defensive hockey. "We're not an offensive team, we're not a skilled team," Zadorov said. "We've been talking about this for two years, you know? I don't know why sometimes in-game stretches or sometimes in some games we think we're offensive, and we've got to make plays through five sticks. We're a simple team. We've got to get pucks deep, get on the forecheck, wear the teams down, and we'll get our opportunities, like we did against New York. "We waited, what, 56 minutes to score our first goal," Zadorov continued. "That's our identity. That's our hockey. That's the Bruins hockey. Be physical on the body and everything. It just kind of shifted away for now the last few periods. "But it's OK. It's early in the year, obviously," Zadorov said. "There's new faces, there's different line mates. But I think we'll be fine. We still have this inside our room and still have our leadership pushing it. We just need to tweak a couple things, and we'll be fine." There's nobody ever quite as open and honest as Zadorov. The structure from Boston on Monday was not close to its best. The quotes mostly speak for themselves. It's clear why Zadorov's a leader on this team. Zadorov was far from the only frustrated Bruin. Rookie James Hagens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/players/watch-james-hagens-nets-first-career-nhl-goal], who scored the lone Bruins goal, took no consolation in that, and pointed directly to his turnover that led to Ottawa's third goal. "Personally, I was a big reason for a couple of those goals going in," Hagens said. "I have to be a lot better. That was unacceptable on my end. It’s tough. You want to be able to play really well and get that win." When asked about Hagens and the other youngsters efforts, Sturm absolved them of any faults. "Yes, [Hagens] probably had a tough night like anyone else," Sturm said. "But I won't blame him. He's a kid who needs to learn. I think our top guys ... they have to be in charge. "I can't ask for a James Hagens to take charge ... I won't blame my young guys [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins/game-day/bruins-gameday-lines-poitras-and-brunet-in-who-comes-out] for that [game]. They're kids, they need to learn the hard way sometimes, but they need help, and that's all of us." The Bruins look to get back on track Thursday night against the Utah Mammoth.
