Bruins allow two goals in final four minutes, lose to Senators in shootout
Boston's 5-3 lead didn't hold down the stretch and the result was a disappointing shootout loss on the road.
The Bruins had a chance to seal a win on Saturday against another Eastern Conference foe vying for a playoff spot. But, instead of escaping Ottawa with a momentum-building win, the Bruins left with a disappointing result instead.
After leading 5-3 late, Boston allowed the Senators to score two goals with their net empty, once with under four minutes to play and another with less than 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
After a scoreless overtime frame, Ottawa found an edge in the shootout to earn an extra point in the standings — which could have major postseason implications.
After the game, Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco offered a critical analysis of his team’s performance.
“Well, we had an opportunity to make it 6-3, but we didn’t do that, so then they came back and we just broke down in our coverage,” he said. “They were hungrier around our net, and we had opportunities below the goal line to get the puck out, but we didn’t. We had some bad coverage on the fourth goal and then the fifth goal same thing.”
Even worse for Boston: Saturday’s game marked a shift in the Eastern Conference standings, and for the first time since late November, the Bruins are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
The Senators leapfrogged the Bruins for the final wild card spot by tying in points (50) while playing fewer games and owning a head-to-head advantage over Boston as well.
Boston has only earned 3 points in the last five games, and they’ll have just 35 games remaining to build up their point total. The Senators have 37 games remaining, and both teams have extremely similar schedule strength going forward; the Bruins’ is .548 (12th easiest) to the Senators’ .547 (11th easiest).
There is still plenty of time left in the season, but Boston is still in uncomfortable territory heading down the stretch. The team is in jeopardy of breaking its eight-year streak of making the postseason.
In what has been a rollercoaster season from training camp through mid-January, Saturday’s outcome was yet another low moment for the Bruins.
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