When Patrice Bergeron tapped the puck into the Devils' net with an extra attacker on and 1:10 left on the clock, the Bruins thought they had just tied the game. That goal was called back after a New Jersey challenge for goalie interference, though.
A minute later, with just seconds left, another puck bounced off New Jersey's Jesper Bratt and appeared to bounce across the line. But once again, no goal after review.
After both scoring opportunities, the refs took a long look before handing down their decisions. As a result the Bruins dropped the contest 1-0 and have now lost four of their last six home games.
After the game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy and captain Patrice Bergeron gave their view on the no-goal calls that ended the Bruins' hopes of leaving the game with a point in the standings.
"Not a lot of puck luck for us," Cassidy said. "Really, really have to work to score goals and then when we do they come back."
Cassidy seemed surprised at the ruling to take back Bergeron's goal.
"He signaled a goal. He was right in front of it, the official, so I thought typically it's supposed to be something egregious. I guess they deemed that egregious," Cassidy said.
The refs determined after review that the contact of David Krejci's stick on the glove of Devils netminder Mackenzie Blackwood was enough to warrant taking back the goal.
From Blackwood's point of view, the refs got the calls right.
"I knew I had it covered before they replayed that one," Blackwood said.
But Cassidy thought otherwise: "I think the overhead does us no favor and that's what they look at. I think if you saw an angle, maybe an on-ice one, that David's stick gets in there before the puck. But I don't know. What am I supposed to say on that?"
#NJDevils challenging for goaltender interference
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) March 29, 2021
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Patrice Bergeron was in agreement with the officials' decision that the puck never did cross the line on the second goal review, but indicated he wasn't quite sure about their decision to take his goal back.
"The second one, from the jumbotron, it looks like it didn't fully pass the line so it is what it is. It's unfortunate, obviously," Bergeron said. "But on the first one, I'll be honest, I didn't see the replay. I'm not sure exactly what happened, there's probably six bodies in front of the goalie trying to jam the puck in. So, I thought the puck was loose, I didn't see what happened, so it is what it is.
"They look at it. I'm sure there's 20 angles to base it on and make a decision, so you have to trust them that they made the right decision and move on."
The Devils were once again able to shut out the Bruins for the second time this season, both times with the Bruins getting 40 shots to the net but nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. More importantly, the efforts resulted in no points in the standings.
The Bruins are currently in fourth place in the East Division with 39 points through 31 games.
Up next, the B's play the Devils for the sixth time this season when they drop the puck on Tuesday at 7 p.m. back at the Garden.
