The scoreboard at the end of Thursday night’s game said Colorado Avalanche 4, Boston Bruins 2.
If you watched the game rather than just reading a box score afterward, you know the Bruins scored more than two goals.
Twice the Bruins had goals disallowed en route to their first loss of the season. They return home after a 3-1-0 road trip with some frustration that they have to hope will turn into more production on their upcoming three-game homestand.
“Well I scored an assist tonight, they got pulled back so you know we should’ve won this game 4-2,” Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk told the media in Denver after the game. “But honestly those weren’t goals I guess, one was offside and [one> goaltender interference. So they looked at it and they called it how it was. You know I don’t think it’s going to snowball but definitely pissing me off for sure.”
-- Jake DeBrusk following tonight's loss: "Of course [it's frustrating> any time that you get production finally and it gets taken away from you twice." pic.twitter.com/TpEGLIBKkn
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins)
October 11, 2019 DeBrusk is still looking for his first goal of the season after his would-be power-play goal 1:09 into the third period was called back for an offside zone entry 52 seconds before David Pastrnak found DeBrusk with a backhand pass across the crease for what could’ve been the go-ahead goal.
Here is the beautiful Pastrnak backhand pass and DeBrusk one-timer goal nullified by our Avs challenge pic.twitter.com/bIcUtVebvL
— Ben "Thursday Night Hockey" Jones (@BenJonesNow)
October 11, 2019 This call the Bruins had little room to argue because the NHL has decided, much like the other major sports, that every millimeter matters and so it’s worth wiping a high-speed, exciting thing of beauty in order to dissect video frame by frame to satisfy some delusional notion that they’re getting every call right. Don’t try driving 55.1 miles per hour past the NHL.
That disallowed goal followed one that Karson Kuhlman thought he’d scored 1:50 into the second period, when he beat goaltender Philipp Grubauer from the left dot after a cross-ice pass from DeBrusk. That goal would’ve made it 3-1 Bruins, but David Krejci was called for goaltender interference when his stick and then his skate were ruled to have violated rules 69.1, 69.3, 69.4 (you can go look it up if you want).
Karson Kuhlman with a phenomenal snipe but the goal is called back for goaltender interference #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/C6mDWry7hl
— Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS)
October 11, 2019 This one the Bruins had more beef about because the shot was so well placed by Kuhlman that Grubauer had little chance to get it, Krejci’s interference or not.
“The goalie interference, as it was explained to us, it was going to be egregious calls, that’s what the challenge was for. Didn’t look egregious to me but that’s what they called, that’s what they called,” Cassidy said.
So instead of talking about the Bruins’ second line coming to life after three slow games, and the Bruins being one of the last remaining undefeated teams in the NHL, the storyline is that the Bruins didn’t close out their road trip as strongly as they could have and they’ve scored nine goals in four games – almost all from the first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak, or with that line on the ice or from the power play.
For too much of this road trip the Bruins were a one-line team production-wise again. Part of it was Krejci getting into rhythm after missing the season opener. Part of it is their continued attempts to jam Brett Ritchie or David Backes into the lineup.
Coyle Heinen w/o Backes or Ritchie71% attempts75% shots93% scoring chancesCoyle Heinen w/ Backes or Ritchie33% attempts33% shots31% scoring chances
— Bruins Stats (@bruins_stats)
October 11, 2019 The home opener against New Jersey on Saturday and the subsequent home games against Anaheim and Tampa Bay next week will be a perfect time to control the matchups and start looking like the four-line team that went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. That might require lineup changes or roster changes, or it could be as simple as the Bruins scoring without any infractions that the filmophiles working for the NHL can scrutinize.
