It took the Boston Bruins a long time to find the back of the net against the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night at the TD Garden.
Trailing 1-0 most of the game, Patrice Bergeron finally broke through Carey Price’s stifling play in the crease for the tying score with 52 seconds left in regulation. Despite the late-game heroics, the Bruins finally fell to the Canadiens in a shootout, 2-1, in the 700th installment of one of the oldest rivalries in the NHL.
Michael Cammalleri scored the game-winner when he shot a wrister into the top right corner of the net, a shot that was just a little too quick for Bruins’ goaltender Tim Thomas to save.
Montreal’s Glen Metropolit scored at 2:28 in the first period after Andrei Kostitsyn skated behind the net and tried to curl a goal into the bottom left corner of the net. Metropolit scored on the rebound for his third goal of the season.
At the other end of the ice, Price stopped 42 shots to preserve the victory, surprising play from a goalie who is just 2-6-0 on the season with a .883 save percentage.
The Bruins, now mired in a three-game losing streak, can at least take one positive note out of this game ‘-‘- they didn’t get shutout.
Before Thursday, Boston had not scored in 192 minutes, six seconds through two consecutive shutout losses.
‘It’s like a broken record, night in, night out,’ Blake Wheeler, whose shootout attempt was saved by Price, said. ‘You’ve got to get tired of it. We’ve got to take it here and take it personally.
‘We have to do it ‘-‘- now.’
Frustration was the story of Thursday’s game. The Bruins could not score despite the enormous amount of shots they put on goal. Boston has held the edge in shots in each of its last three consecutive losses.
Thomas has had his struggles this season, but he has also had moments of brilliance. Tonight could have been one of those nights, but the defense was not always there to support him. He allowed two goals on 26 shots, one of those goals in the shootout.
‘When you throw a lot of pucks at the net and don’t get rewarded, it’s frustrating,’ said Michael Ryder, who despite having three goals and three assists this season, has not been producing as of late.
When asked after the game how he was handling the pressure as the Bruins’ number one in net, Thomas responded that he ‘was still learning.’ He also addressed his team’s losing streak and inability to beat opposing goalies.
‘I’m just doing my job. I can’t teach them how to score. They need to stop thinking about it and do it,’ Thomas said. ‘It’s going to take all of us to find a way to deal with it.’
The Bruins started slow Thursday night. They had just nine shots on goal in the first period. Their strategy of dumping the puck into Montreal’s defensive zone and hoping to outskate their opponents did not work: the Canadiens’ defense was stifling.
The chances were there, however, later in the game. The Bruins had success in the second period: they had 17 shots on goal and were presented with several good opportunities to score. Momentum was swinging their way and two consecutive Canadiens’ penalties gave Boston the opportunities to equalize the score.
Even then, nothing materialized and the losing streak continued. Thomas was positive about his team’s performance, with a caveat.
‘I think we’ve been playing with energy. We stepped it up to a new level tonight,’ Thomas said. ‘It just hasn’t been working. We need to reach deep down inside and see what this locker room has in it.’
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