By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
On the first night of a back-to-back, the Boston Bruins were north of the border in the capital city of Canada. Fresh off a victory on Saturday, the Bruins looked to make it two in a row against an Atlantic Division rival. That did not pan out for the black and gold. Morgan Geekie continued his hot streak, but the Senators found success on their power play, scoring four times en route to a 7-2 victory on Monday night.
First Period
The first period started exactly how you would have liked it for the Boston Bruins. Ottawa applied pressure early, putting three shots on Jeremy Swayman in the game’s first two minutes. Three minutes in, Morgan Geekie picked up a turnover on the Ottawa blue line, walked into the zone, and unleashed a rocket. It was the Bruins’ first shot on goal of the night, and it was a good one. That was Geekie’s seventh goal of the season and fifth in the last four games.
With 11 minutes to go in the first, Mikey Eyssimont took a high-sticking penalty. That led to a Senators’ response on the scoresheet. Ridly Greig drove a shot at Jeremy Swayman, and a wide-open Drake Batherson tapped the rebound by his pad to tie the game. The first period ended tied at one; the Bruins picked up nine shots to Ottawa’s ten.
Second Period
The second period started the opposite way for the Bruins compared to the first. Sixty-eight seconds into the period, Claude Giroux crashed the net and redirected the Michael Amadio feed over Jeremy Swayman’s left pad. The Senators jumped to a lead very early, and the Bruins could not respond.
With just over five minutes left, Lars Eller poked the puck out of a swarm of Bruins jerseys and found the stick of Drake Batherson, who buried his second of the night. The Bruins outshot Ottawa in the second 10-4, but Ottawa’s two goals extended their lead to two heading into the final frame.
Third Period
Nikita Zadorov took an interference penalty eight seconds into the third period. The Senators’ power play has been successful all season, entering the game producing at a 28.1% rate and ranked sixth in the league. Off the ensuing faceoff, Drake Batherson won it back to Jake Sanderson, who found Tim Stutzle waiting at the circle. He picked his corner and found the back of the net, increasing the Ottawa lead to three.
The tires fell off for the black and gold. Charlie McAvoy tripped Tim Stutzle and went to the box for two minutes. Ottawa capitalized on the power play, with a second goal from Tim Stutzle. Three minutes later, Nick Cousins jumped on Stutzle’s rebound, winning the puck net front and pushing it right by Jeremy Swayman. That was not it for the Senators; Charlie McAvoy was in the penalty box for interference on Leevi Merilainen, and Fabian Zetterlund ripped a 90mph shot by Swayman to make it 7-1.
In the game’s waning seconds, Fraser Minten set up Viktor Arvidsson for his second goal as a Boston Bruin. The goal was reviewed for a potential offside call, but ended up counting, cutting the Senators’ lead to five. Tanner Jeannot picked up the secondary assist for his fourth point of the season.
Jeremy Swayman made 17 saves on 24 shots, and his record falls to 3-4-0 on the season. Meanwhile, Leevi Merilainen stopped 26 of the 28 Bruin shots. The Senators’ man advantage proved to be a threat, capitalizing on four of the five opportunities they had in this game. The Bruins were only on the power play once and did not connect.
With the loss, the Bruins fall to 4-7-0 on the 2025-26 season, and 1-7-0 in their last eight games. Fortunately for the Bruins and head coach Marco Sturm, they are back at it on Tuesday: “We have to put that one away and show some life tomorrow, especially at home,” Sturm said to NESN’s Andy Brickley after the game. The Bruins do not have much time to adjust, but have to come out firing when they host the New York Islanders at 7:15 PM on Tuesday.
Start from scratch this team is the worst bruins club I’ve ever seen in over 50 years.
Take it apart. Swayman is not the goalie of the future Charlie Mac and Lindholm are useless he’s always hurt get a load of number ones rebuild. Sweeney’s and Neely have to go! It’s not healthy watching this