By: Max Weisman | Follow me on Twitter: @maweisman
When Tuesday night’s game between the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild ended tied at the end of regulation, the Bruins headed for extra hockey for the fourth straight game. Overtime has been no stranger to the Bruins this season. Tuesday’s extra period was the tenth in which the Bruins have played.
The overtime frenzy the Bruins find themselves in started last Wednesday in New Jersey. After Morgan Geekie scored early in the first period, the Bruins couldn’t find the back of the net again against a team that allows the eighth-most goals in the league. The Bruins registered only 24 shots on goal to the Devils 35. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman played exceptionally well, but the dam will eventually break when you don’t score. Dawson Mercer tied the game late after a wacky sequence in front of the Bruins’ net, and Jack Hughes won it in overtime. The 2-1 loss to New Jersey was the first time the Bruins lost to the Devils since May 2021.
The Bruins then traveled to Long Island and played a crazy game against the Islanders. The Bruins fought back time and again against New York, tying the game three separate times after being down 2-0, 3-2, and 4-3. Already down 2-0 and shorthanded, Linus Ullmark made a remarkable save on Simon Holmstrom that directly led to a Morgan Geekie goal, flipping the script on the game and waking up the Bruins.
David Pastrnak equalized on another power play just a few minutes later, and suddenly, the game was tied at two, heading into the third. The Islanders wouldn’t go away in the third, but neither would the Bruins. Boston answered the bell both times the Islanders took a third-period lead. James van Riemsdyk tied the game at three on a power play, and Mason Lohrei scored from behind the goal line to tie the game at four. The Bruins faced more adversity when David Pastrnak was called for a penalty with 18 seconds left in the game. Fortunately, no harm came from the penalty as Linus Ullmark made two saves on the kill to keep the game knotted at four.
The Bruins beat the Islanders in the shootout after a scoreless overtime; however, it was not a chanceless overtime. The Bruins had five shots on goal, all stopped by Ilya Sorokin. In the shootout, though, Sorokin couldn’t stop Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak, and the Bruins got two points from an eventful game.
The Bruins then traveled home to play the Rangers, finishing off a three-game stretch against all New York area teams. This game followed a similar script to the Devils game. Trent Frederic scored early in the second period, and the game remained scoreless until Vincent Trochek tied it up at one in the third. Like the New Jersey game, the Bruins were outshot by the Rangers, 34-to-22, and couldn’t capitalize on an outstanding goaltending performance. After Trochek’s tying goal, the Bruins only registered two shots on goal, not showing the level of urgency they had the night before. Trocheck then got the winner two minutes into overtime.
Finally, the Bruins played Minnesota Tuesday night at the Garden, and the game seemed to be a combination of the last three for Boston. The Bruins held a 2-1 lead going into the third period but gave up goals from Kiril Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman in two minutes. That script followed the Devils and Rangers games in that the Bruins gave up their lead and didn’t fight back. However, this time, the Bruins fought back, logging seven shots on goal after falling behind and tying the game up on a Brad Marchand goal.
Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury kept the Wild in the game with great saves. He finished the game with 40 saves on 43 shots and some pretty acrobatic saves to keep the Wild ahead before the Marchand goal. Unfortunately for Boston, overtime ended in heartbreak again with a Kiril Kaprizov winner.
The Bruins played four straight overtime games and went 1-3, and they are now 4-6 on the season in overtime and shootout games. They have a much-needed break before their next game to rest. Boston will travel to Winnipeg to play the Jets on Friday night at eight.
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