By: Chad Jones | Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
The Boston Bruins entered their road trip with a 3-1-0 record and playing solid hockey. But the team will return home after failing to pick up points in any of the three games on the trip. The Bruins’ record stands at 3-4-0 after dropping the trip’s finale 3-2 to the Utah Mammoth Sunday night.
First Period
Mark Kastelic and Liam O’Brien set the tone early with a spirited bout. Soon after, an Elias Lindholm hooking penalty gave Utah a chance on the man advantage. The Mammoth potted the contest’s first goal after a Nick Schmaltz slot shot deflected off Logan Cooley’s back and in. Joonas Korpisalo could not locate the puck as it fluttered in the air before crossing the goal line.
But the Bruins’ goaltender would lock in and make multiple athletic stops in the frame. And Boston would take that momentum into their power play.
After not getting much going for the first minute on the man advantage, Charlie McAvoy fired the puck off Pavel Zacha’s stick in the bumper. The re-direction found David Pastrnak, who was stationed near the inner edge of the left faceoff circle. The winger snuck an attempt between the left post and Vitek Vanecek to knot the game at one aside.
Boston and Utah would head into the first intermission tied 1-1. The shots were nearly identical, and both teams converted one of their two power play chances.
Second Period
The Bruins would claim the lead early in the frame. Pastrnak and Marat Khusnutdinov played catch on a slow-developing two-on-one, which ended with Pastrnak beating Vanecek for the second time in the contest.
Korpisalo was solid between the pipes on the penalty kill and at even strength. The netminder was active with his pads and hopping on loose pucks to take stoppages when appropriate. He also showed some fire by throwing a puck near O’Brien at one point, displaying his frustration about being touched in his crease.
But the Mammoth would keep coming. Skating four aside, Ian Cole ran a pick on Henri Jokiharju to spring Shmaltz. The winger used the open ice to his advantage and delivered a slick back-door feed to Clayton Keller, who buried the equalizer. The 2-2 score would hold after 40 minutes.
Third Period
Utah grabbed the lead just past the halfway point of the final frame. JJ Peterka stripped Khusnutdinov of the puck in Boston’s end. Peterka then served the puck to Dylan Guenther, who rifled home a goal from the left faceoff circle. The Mammoth led 3-2 late in the third period.
With just over five minutes left, Boston went to the power play on the hunt for the game-tying score. The best scoring chance came from a backhanded shot from Viktor Arvidsson in the slot, but Vanecek made the stop.
Even when Korpisalo was pulled, the Bruins could not muster a consistent offensive attack to make Utah sweat in their own zone. The game ended 3-2 after an anemic late push from Boston. In all three defeats on this road trip, the Bruins failed not only to bury a late game-tying score, but they were also unable to consistently pressure their opponents or generate quality scoring chances late in games.
Boston will return to TD Garden Tuesday night to take on the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. There will undoubtedly be extra juice in the arena, as Brad Marchand will make his return to The Garden’s ice.
Leave a Reply