The Bruins managed to break the 20-shot plateau in San Jose on Saturday, but that’s as far as their progress went.
The B’s coughed up a late game-winning goal to the Sharks and suffered 3-1 loss, their fourth loss in a row in what should have been the most winnable game of the five-game road trip. The Sharks, meanwhile, snapped a 14-game losing streak to the B’s.
The Sharks’ Lucas Carlsson scored the go-ahead goal with 3:23 left in regulation when he backhanded home a loose puck after the Sharks spent a long time in the Boston zone. Interim coach Joe Sacco called timeout to get a longer look at a possible offside by the Sharks. It certainly looked like Timothy Liljegren carried the puck over the line before William Eklund tagged up, but Sacco elected not to challenge.
“From our perspective, the player carrying the puck, he did not have possession. He let go of it at the blue line, therefore (Eklund) had the ability to tag up before (Liljegren) got possession again,” Sacco told NESN.
While the B’s wanted to avoid getting the minor penalty for a failed challenge, it didn’t help them. Barclay Goodrow ended it with an empty netter with 50 seconds left.
In the overall scheme of things, losing games right now is not the worst thing in the world for the B’s, as defeats can only help their draft standing.
But for the psyche of the players trudging to the finish line of this disastrous season, it’s surely not great to be losing games to the worst team in the league. While the B’s snapped their three-game streak of getting 20 or fewer shots on net, holding a 23-22 advantage, they still turned down shots on occasion. And the only goal they scored was on a gaffe from the Sharks.
“Obviously that one hurts but we’re going to have to get right back at it against a good team (Los Angeles Kings on Sunday at 9 p.m.),” said Casey Mittelstadt, the beneficiary of the San Jose turnover.
The biggest event in the scoreless first period was a bout between Jakub Lauko and Goodrow that Lauko initiated just 3:00 in an obvious attempt by the Bruin to jump-start his team. Both players landed a couple of punches before it quickly came to an end when Lauko’s jersey came up over his head.
The game marked the return of Fabian Lysell, who made his presence felt early with his speed, drawing the first penalty of the game. But the B’s made bupkis out of the power play, failing to register a single shot on net.
The Sharks weren’t much better in their two power-play opportunities. Shots were 7-7 in the opening 20 minutes.
After the ho-hum first, the B’s had to contend with their ongoing problems in the second period. And on Saturday, the trend continued.
The Sharks took the lead at 2:13 of the second, thanks to a defensive miscue by the B’s.
Mittelstadt turned over the puck high in the offensive zone but it appeared the B’s had enough numbers back to squelch the Shark attack. The only problem was that both defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and backchecker Cole Koepke shaded over to Macklin Celebrini on the right wing. That left William Eklund wide open to receive Celebrini’s pass on the left wing and beat Joonas Korpisalo between the pads.
The Sharks controlled much of the period but a feisty Korpisalo came up with several big saves to keep it a one-goal game.
Then the B’s flurried late in the period and Koepke redeemed himself. Sharks goalie Alexander Georgiev went behind his net to play a dump-in and, after a some indecision, he dished it to defenseman Vincent Desharnais. That split second of hesitation by Georgiev was enough to give Koepke time to get in on the forecheck and knock it free from Desharnais. It squirted to Mittelstadt in the slot and he buried it into the empty net before Georgiev could scramble back at 16:50.
But against a team that was allowing a league-high 3:68 goals against, that’s the only goal the B’s pop-gun offense could manage. It was the 19th time this season that the B’s have been held to one goal or fewer.
Waiting for the them in LA is a heavy Kings team that is second in the NHL in defense (2.53 goals against average). A long road trip feels like it’s going to get even longer.
