On the surface, the Bruins' 4-3 loss to Anaheim Tuesday night may not seem like a particularly big deal. It was the second night of a back-to-back, in the middle of a long road trip, and Boston had won five straight going in. The Ducks were rested, not to mention desperate as they try to stay in the Western Conference playoff race. At least the B's kept it close, right?
All true. But this game was there for the taking, and coming from behind to win in the face of all of that could have made this a fairly important character-building night.
In all the Bruins' recent wins, they've been able to either play from ahead or keep games tied or within a goal. That's great, obviously. It's a better formula than having to overcome multi-goal deficits. But it's also important to know that you're capable of coming from behind from time to time, and that a two-goal deficit doesn't have to mean the game's over.
And the Bruins haven't done that in a while. The last time they came back from two goals down to win was Jan. 10 against the Capitals. Since then, they've developed a bad habit of letting games get away from them when they fall behind instead of being able to fight back -- think of their two losses to Carolina, the losses to the Islanders and Stars, and even their first loss to Anaheim in late January.
At least the Bruins didn't do that Tuesday night. Trailing 3-1 at the end of the first period, they actually did battle back and eventually tied the game on David Pastrnak's goal early in the third. Especially given that it was a back-to-back, it was encouraging to see them not just roll over.
But you still have to finish the job, and the Bruins didn't. The two points were there to be had, as they outplayed the Ducks for the majority of the second and third periods. Then a disastrous final minute and a half resulted in the Bruins not even getting the game to overtime to get one point.
Craig Smith turned the puck over on a breakout, Charlie McAvoy committed a hooking penalty during the extended Ducks possession, and Trevor Zegras scored the game-winning goal with 22 seconds left on the ensuing power play.
Defensive-zone mistakes like Smith's were what put the Bruins in a hole in the first place. Derek Forbort committed a horrible turnover on the penalty kill on Anaheim's first goal. Brad Marchand turned the puck over twice leading up to the second goal. Trent Frederic stopped skating on the backcheck on the third.
"Typically, back-to-backs we've been fine, but the first period is usually the period you've got to get through," Bruce Cassidy said after the game. "To be perfectly honest, it's what, 1-1, with a few minutes to go? It looked like we were gonna get through it even though we weren't at our best. We gave up a few early and then we just had some bad breakdowns. We didn't manage pucks, didn't protect the front of our net. All of a sudden, it's 3-1."
Being able to win even when you don't have your "A" game or when you fall behind early is one of the marks of a good team. The Bruins have done that at times this season, but it's been a while. Tuesday night would have been a good chance to remind themselves they can do it.
Perhaps just getting back in the game was enough to accomplish that. Not getting a point or two isn't exactly devastating in the standings, as the Bruins are still comfortably in the playoffs. Cassidy did note that there were still positives to take away from the night.
"The positive of this is we found a way to get back in the game," Cassidy said. "Some of these games have gone 6-1, 7-1 against this year. That was one good thing, in the middle of a road trip when maybe fatigue could've set in, we found another gear."
Still, losing in the final minute like that stings, and the taste it leaves you with is one of a missed opportunity, not a gritty comeback.
