By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins were back on TD Garden ice, kicking off a three-game homestand against an Atlantic Division foe in the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins came into tonight’s matchup off a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, so they were looking to right the ship at home.
Ottawa, on the other hand, was coming into tonight’s game off a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in their season opener. After the departure of former captain Brady Tkachuk over the summer, Ottawa is desperate to kick off the 2026-27 season on the right foot.
Dreadful Start
Whatever negative adjectives that could be used for the Bruins’ start tonight, it was worse. Early in the period, it was clear that, for whatever reason, Ottawa was out-muscling the Bruins, especially in their own zone.
Essentially every time the puck was below the dot, Bruins defenders were getting worked. Behind the net, in the corners, all over their own zone. They showed glimpses of offense at times, generating a couple chances, but nothing came of it.
Things went from bad to worse when the Bruins went to the man-advantage. The Bruins saw two early power play opportunities, and the Senators made them pay for their mistakes. Tim Stutzle was somehow able to cash in twice while short-handed, putting the Bruins down 2-0. Lucky for the Bruins, they were able to stop the bleeding and keep it at a score of 2-0. However, things didn’t improve in terms of their performance.
Both Matt Poitras and Frederic Brunet, who were making their season debuts tonight, had decent starts. Brunet kept things simple on the backend, breaking up plays before they had the opportunity to materialize, and Poitras had as good a chance as anyone on the Bruins’ offense when it came to generating chances. There could’ve been worse spots for both of the young guys to be.
From Bad to Worse
Somehow, things went from bad to worse, as the Senators cashed in on a third goal just 66 seconds into the second frame. All over the ice, the Bruins’ decision making was extremely questionable. Bad passes, turnovers, lost puck battles in the d-zone, you name it. If there was a bad play to be had, the Bruins made it.
Towards the end of the period, the Bruins showed small glimpses of offense, but it didn’t amount to anything. They were getting outshot, outmuscled, and outplayed. Head coach Marco Sturm attempted to shift things around by shaking up the lines, but it didn’t help.
No Signs of Life
The final frame really wasn’t any better than the first two, despite the Bruins getting on the scoresheet thanks to James Hagens about halfway through the frame. Similarly to the previous two periods, there were opportunities for the Bruins to start building towards closing the gap in score, but they were just unable to do it. The Senators completely owned them in every facet tonight.
Marco Sturm attempted to get his guys going by juggling all of the lines, but even still, it wasn’t enough. Even the Bruins’ physical play came too little, too late. Nikita Zadorov was really the only one throwing effective hits through the entire 60 minutes, and things really boiled over with about 3.2 seconds remaining. At that point, though, it doesn’t do anyone any good.
Reflection
Post-game, the Bruins were disappointed and bothered by their performance, to no one’s surprise. David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Nikita Zadorov, and rookie James Hagens all spoke following the embarrassing loss, and no one was harder on himself than the 19-year-old Hagens.
“I was a big reason for a couple of those goals, so I have to be a lot better. That was unacceptable on my end,” Hagens said. When asked about the message in the room, Zadorov was very blunt in his answer: “There was no message. Everybody knows.”
Bruins’ captain David Pastrnak alluded to the fact that the Bruins are playing their third game in four days in a very young season as part of the reason they were so dull tonight, but wasn’t using that as an excuse.
Pavel Zacha was asked about what went wrong tonight, and he felt that the Bruins “weren’t focused, especially on the power play. I think that’s how it started. I think we need to be better there.”
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