(Photo Credit: Matt Slocum/AP Photo)

By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter / X @adbblue

The Boston Bruins lost 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon. The first two periods were very boring, with a combined 26 shots on goal. 

This marked the first tilt of a six-game road trip for the Bruins, and it didn’t start off how they wanted it to. Their lack of offense ultimately worked against them in this game. 

First Period

The first 4:00 seldom had action up until the Flyer’s Tyson Forrester hit the post on a wrist shot from the middle of the ice. Boston received the game’s first power play, but they did nothing with it other than one solid chance from Charlie Coyle. The Bruins generated an excellent five-on-five chance on a creative backdoor pass from Charlie McAvoy, who set up David Pastrnak, but he drilled it wide of the net. With 6:00 to play in the period, Brad Marchand was on the receiving end of a dangerous knee-on-knee collision by Erik Johnson that both officials missed.

As a result, Marchand expressed his displeasure and was given an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. The Bruins got their second power play of the game with 2:47 left, but it was short-lived as a James van Riemsdyk holding penalty canceled it out and made it a four-on-four situation for 0:33. The Flyers didn’t do anything with the man advantage time remaining and the power play carried over to the second period. There was a lack of offensive action as the shots on goal were even 5-5, with both goaltenders stopping everything. 

Second Period

Philadelphia started the period with 0:40 of remaining power play time, but they could not capitalize. The Flyers had a solid chance right after the penalty expired when Ullmark misplayed the puck, but a Travis Konecny redirection missed. There was about a 5:00-minute stretch without a shot on goal by either team, which was uneventful hockey. Finally, the Bruins accumulated some attacking zone time with a tremendous shift, but nothing appeared on the scoreboard.

The Flyers answered with a great scoring chance by Owen Tippet using his speed to the outside, but Ullmark held his post and made the save. With 3:17 remaining, Andrew Peeke was called for a 2:00 high sticking penalty, and the Flyers cashed in. Konecny was able to put home a feed-down low to give his team a 1-0 lead. Philadelphia looked to extend their lead in the final minute on a Scott Laughton breakaway, but Ullmark made a flashy glove save. The Flyers had the shots on goal advantage 8-7 in another limited offensive period.

Third Period

The Flyers had two great opportunities in the first couple of minutes, but Ullmark shut the door. The Flyers continued to produce chances, but they weren’t able to find the back of the net. The Bruins finally found the back of the net on a great effort by Justin Brazeau, who finished his fourth goal in three games to tie the game 1-1.

Philadelphia retook the lead with 4:44 left on Konecny’s second goal of the afternoon, which made it a 2-1 game. Just 0:56 later, Morgan Geekie made a perfect pass to Danton Heinen, who buried a one-timer past Samuel Ersson to tie the game 2-2. With 1:29 to go, Foerster beat Ullmark top shelf to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead, which would be the difference maker en route to a Philadelphia victory.

Up Next

Next, the Bruins head to Florida to take on the Panthers on Tuesday night, the team that eliminated them in the first round last year. It will be a 7:00 p.m. puck drop and the third of four meetings between the two teams this season. The Bruins won the first two games 3-2 in overtime and 3-1.