Boston Bruins: The race for 1st place just got a whole lot tighter
By Sam Minton
The Boston Bruins were looking to extend their hold on 1st place on Tuesday. They came up short leaving fans stunned.
A 4-0 loss is a nice punch in the gut. The Boston Bruins had been playing great. No matter the lead it seemed like the Bruins would be able to make a comeback. So when the Bruins went down a goal to the Tampa Bay Lightning it seemed fine. Then there was the second goal, then the third. Even then it seemed like the Bruins could still make a comeback. The final blow was the fourth goal and the Bruins were done.
Now the Boston Bruins essentially need to win out in order to get home ice. Hopefully, unlike prior experiences, the Bruins will be able to come up clutch in the final few games of the season
The Bruins come out flat
This was one of the first games in forever where the Bruins just weren’t into the game. They looked tired and uninterested. They were chasing the Lightning for 60 minutes. It looked like their busy schedule had finally caught up with them. The Bruins defense was horrible with the Bruins top 2 defenders both having a rating of -2. The Bruins allowed 17 shots on net in the first period alone.
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I hope the Bruins are getting these terrible games out of their system now because you can’t play like this in the playoffs.
Rask struggles in net
It was a rough night for Tuukka Rask on Tuesday night. It’s hard to have a good night when you allow 4 goals. They weren’t the toughest of shots either. He could have either made the stop or also not allowed the rebound. The deficit may have been larger if it wasn’t for Patrice Bergeron making a save.
Now the worst thing about Rask is when he doesn’t have the best of game’s he can sometimes turn a blind eye.
Tuukka Rask, when asked what he chalked his own performance tonight up to after putting together a pretty strong last month: "I don't know. I thought I played pretty good...yeah. Just keep it going."
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) April 4, 2018
You like to see your goaltender be accountable after a rough game. I like Rask and hopefully this will just be a small hiccup. The Bruins need him to perform well in the playoffs.
The offense was nowhere to be found
Now even though Rask allowed 4 goals, the Bruins offense was nonexistent. They had a couple of chances but never seemed to get anything going. Even if Rask allowed one goal the Bruins still would have lost tonight. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy is hoping the Bruins can use this experience as a lesson as they head into the playoffs.
Bruce Cassidy: "I thought a lot of our young guys got an education on what it takes. I'm not putting this on them, but I'm just saying the experience they gained tonight understanding the urgency level will be very good for them in the long run"
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) April 4, 2018
Cassidy: "We had some 'B' & 'C' games tonight. We really did...and not enough 'A' games to beat a hungry team in that type of battle. You saw the game. There were some guys that needed to be better & they weren't. It is what it is. They were harder than us. Give them full credit"
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) April 4, 2018
Next: A sad end to Brandon Carlo's season
The Boston Bruins are now tied for 1st place in the Eastern Conference. If they win out they get home ice. The Bruins look to get back on the right track as they play the Florida Panthers on Thursday.