The Boston Bruins couldn't make it two road wins in a row, as they fell to the New Jersey Devils, 4-3, in overtime Monday night in Newark.
The Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead, but then gave up three straight to fall behind before David Pastrnak tied the game at 3-3 with his second goal of the night.
The Bruins spent most of overtime defending, but then got a golden chance to win it when Pastrnak set up Charlie McAvoy in the slot. McAvoy hit the post, though, and a few seconds later, Paul Cotter finished off a breakaway at the other end with just seven seconds left in overtime.
Boston wraps up its three-game road trip Tuesday night in Montreal against the Canadiens. Before they do, here are three takeaways from Monday night:
Second period lull proves costly
The Bruins appeared to be in control at the end of the first period, leading 2-0 and holding the Devils to six shots on goal. But they took their foot off the gas in the second and let the Devils back in the game.
Connor Brown cut it to 2-1 just 32 seconds into the period after a sloppy Boston zone entry led to a breakaway the other way. Pavel Zacha put a pass behind Casey Mittelstadt, and then Viktor Arvidsson got his pocket picked by Jack Hughes, who flipped the puck up to Brown before McAvoy and D partner Jonathan Aspirot could get back.
It was a similar story a few minutes later when the Devils tied the game. McAvoy made an ill-advised pass at the offensive blue line that easily got picked by Hughes (again), leading to a 3-on-2 for New Jersey. Jesper Bratt finished off a pass from Brown, squeezing a one-timer under Joonas Korpisalo's left arm.
The Bruins ultimately got outshot 17-8 in the second period, looking completely overmatched by a team that is nowhere near the playoffs. That just can't happen. These kinds of lulls have become an all-too-common part of Boston's road struggles, and it may yet cost them a playoff spot if they can't figure out how to avoid them. (The Bruins are still in a playoff spot as of Monday night, but are just two points ahead of Columbus, who has a game in hand.)
Pastrnak reunites with 'kids,' puts on show
Bruins coach Marco Sturm has been struggling to find any line combinations that work outside of the second line of Pavel Zacha, Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson. On Monday, he turned to "The Kid Line," as Pastrnak dubbed it, putting Pastrnak with youngsters Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.
It paid off, as that line was very good against the Devils, and Pastrnak looked rejuvenated. He scored twice, both goals coming at 5-on-5 with his new linemates. On the first, he collected a loose puck off a Henri Jokiharju shot and calmly waited out Jacob Markstrom before sliding the puck five-hole. On the second, he made a filthy dangle around Nico Hischier off the rush before once again sliding the puck five-hole on Markstrom.
With the Khusnutdinov-Minten-Pastrnak line on the ice Monday, the Bruins out-attempted the Devils 12-9, out-chanced them 6-3, and outscored them 2-0.
It's a trio that Sturm used for a handful of games back in December and early January, but really not at all since. They've been good when they're together, though, and that continued on Monday. They've now outscored opponents 11-3 in 80 minutes together, and their 8.25 goals per 60 minutes is second in the NHL out of more than 300 line combinations that have played at least 70 minutes together.
Keeping the "kids" together a little longer would seemingly be a wise move.
Geekie, E. Lindholm, power play continue to struggle
So, Sturm knows he has a second line that works. He may have found a first line that works. What about the new third line?
Well… not so good. Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm, both dropped in the lineup, continue to struggle mightily post-Olympics. Playing on a line with Alex Steeves – a combination that actually worked well earlier in the season – Geekie and Lindholm still could not get anything going.
That line spent much of the night in their own zone chasing the puck, with the Devils out-attempting the Bruins 15-3 when they were on the ice. Lindholm had zero 5-on-5 shot attempts; Geekie had one. Both of them are still stuck on zero 5-on-5 points in 10 games since the Olympics.
Those struggles have carried over to the power play, which had another ugly night with an 0-for-3 performance, including wasting another 5-on-3 opportunity in the third period. The Bruins' man advantage is now 4-for-35 since the break, an abysmal 11.4%.
That isn't all on Geekie and Lindholm, obviously, but they are part of the problem. On the Bruins' final power play of the night Monday, Geekie made a drop pass to no one that cleared the zone.
The other three players on the Bruins' top power-play unit at least have something to hang their hat on: Pastrnak is clearly breaking out of his own slump, McAvoy is racking up points, and Zacha's line keeps contributing 5-on-5. Geekie and Lindholm are the two who really just have nothing going right now – at 5-on-5 or on the power play. The Bruins desperately need them to snap out of it as soon as possible.