Boston Bruins fall short against Colorado Avalanche once again

The Boston Bruins lost 6-3 last night in another lackluster effort

In a home and home series, the Boston Bruins came up empty as they lost once again to the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 last night.

After Alexander Kerfoot got the Avalanche on the board tipping in his first goal of the season midway through the first period. The Bruins managed to even the score late in the first though.

Ryan Spooner chipped the puck out of the Bruins zone and Brad Marchand handled the rest. He lifted a defender’s stick and then showed off his speed as he burst into the Avs zone. He rifled a wrist shot and scored his second goal of the season.

The second period was terrible for the Boston Bruins. as they only managed five shots on goal. They were unable to get anything going in the offensive zone and were giving up key turnovers.

Torey Krug who ended the game at -3 was very vocal about his poor performance.

"“It’s a sign of weak teams, letting things snowball. I was a big part of that, I was terrible in the second period,” said Krug, who was a minus-3. “Turnovers, penalties, every time I touched the ice something bad happened. I’ll take the blame for the second period. “Guys are battling, [Adam McQuaid’s] fighting, my D partner’s fighting, Tuukka’s making saves…leaving guys out to dry and I’ll take full blame for that.”"

Goaltending Issues

It was not a good game for Tuukka Rask. It can never be when you give up four goals. This type of performance should not be happening against a poor team like the Avalanche. Both of Rask’s performance’s against the Avalanche were poor for a player who is making around $7 million per season. It is very early in the season but a 3.75 GAA is terrible. I expect Tuukka to step it up and return to form but this kind of start to the season is not acceptable.

In the third period, Anton Khudobin was in net for the Bruins. Bruce Cassidy went out of his way to clarify it wasn’t about Rask’s performance.

"“I thought that Dobby needed some work. He’s gonna play this weekend and we hung Tuukka out to dry,” said Cassidy. “It was more about Dobby getting some work. Sometimes that sparks the team. I don’t know in this case if it did, but that was the principal reason.”"

I think Cassidy was trying to spark the team, but Tuukka’s performance had to play a role in putting Khudobin in. You can’t give up three goals in a period. Khudobin came in and played pretty well he stopped all nine shots that he faced including a sprawling save against J.T. Compher.

Third Period Effort

The third-period effort from the Bruins provided some hope. Unlike the last game, the team bounced back in the third and showed some fight. It started with some great play by the Bruins fourth line. Danton Heinen put a shot on net and Tim Schaller rushed the net to take advantage of a good rebound off of Varlamov and put home his first goal of the season. That also gave Heinen his first point in the NHL. Their effort did not go unnoticed.

"“Kuraly’s line got us going,” said Krug. “They’re not a flashy line, but they know what their job is and they go straight north-south game and get it behind them and go to work. It was a greasy goal and got us back in it. Got the guys excited on the bench again.”More from Chowder and Champions3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster DeadlineMLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 SeasonRed Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win"

Even though Krug finished at -3 he did score on the power play for his first goal of the season. Krug made a great effort to keep the puck in the zone and later was rewarded as he muscled home a loose puck to make it a one-goal game for the Boston Bruins.

The hope of a comeback was eliminated when the Avalanche scored two empty net goals late in the third.

Overall the Bruins need to step up their play. This is a teamwide issue that needs to be fixed. Captain Zdeno Chara realizes what the Bruins are dealing with.

"“I have no words, just not a very good game, obviously. We were not strong on the puck, with the puck, under the puck. Just not good enough all over the ice…it’s up to us that we make sure we fix it.”"

The Boston Bruins head to the desert to play the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night. With back to back games, we should see Khudobin in net. This will be a good opportunity to let Rask shake off these last two games and also see if Khudobin will be able to be a quality backup.

Next: Boston Bruins: Players the team can’t afford to lose in 2017-18 season

This type of effort can not continue and if it does it will be a long season for Bruins fans.