Little by little, the Boston Bruins, on the wrong side of a 5-3 final at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Sunday night, are running out of breathing room. Breathing room meaning the chance to control their own fate, healthy bodies, and of course (and most importantly), time left on the 2014-15 season.
But in their fifth straight defeat, the Black and Gold seemingly had the start they wanted.
B’s alternate captain Patrice Bergeron scored on a delayed penalty just 33 seconds into the first period, while Brad Marchand successfully goaded Steven Stamkos off the ice for five minutes by way of a fighting major midway through the period. But Tampa Bay’s damage was done by way of three first-period strikes. Vladislav Namestnikov tied things up at the 5:49 mark, while J.T. Brown and defenseman Anton Stralman scored 15 seconds apart.
The Lightning made it 4-1 behind Jason Garrison’s first goal since Dec. 4, and thus put an end to Tuukka Rask’s night after surrendering four goals on just 12 shots against.
Boston did their best to make a game of it, coming within two of the Bolts on a Zdeno Chara power-play goal midway through the third, but a Ondrej Palat power-play strike at the other end just 2:28 later put this game out of reach, even with Dan Paille’s goal at the 19:12 mark.
Their defeat put an end to a 10-game winning streak the club had over Tampa Bay, and kept the B’s lead over the Sens for the 8th seed at just a single point, with Ottawa now holding two games in hand.
Random thoughts and notes
- Before I delve into critiquing the decision, I’ll have to be fair and admit that a Boston win on Saturday night probably -- well, perhaps maybe is better -- gives Tuukka Rask this game off.
But there’s no way you could watch Rask in this one, and then watch Niklas Svedberg (albeit in mop-up duty) and say that Rask was the clear-cut option for this start over No. 72. By now, I get it. Rask is the $7 million man, he’s the reigning Vezina, and he’s going to lead the Bruins from here on out. But the B’s are going to absolutely run him into the ground, and it’s going to cost them. If they haven’t already.
Somehow, someway, Claude Julien needs to find a way to put some faith in Svedberg in the second leg of back-to-backs, who really isn’t as bad as their usage of the 25-year-old Swede would lead to believe.
It could honestly be the difference between a potential playoff run or sitting at home in mid-April.
- Forward Reilly Smith returned to action for this one, and looked… better.
When it comes to Smith, Julien and the coaching staff simply wants more from the 23-year-old. And when I say more, it’s sorta all-encompassing. Julien wants Smith to shoot the puck more (though Smith finished this one with zero shots). He wants him to be stronger on the puck in the attacking zone and win more battles than he loses. The Bruins obviously want the best for this player, especially when they’ve committed considerable money to him for two more seasons after this, and really used Saturday’s healthy scratch as a way to send him a message that he has to be an impactful presence.
Smith logged 15:32 of time on ice, skated on his normal line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and picked up the primary assist on Chara’s goal. It was Smith’s first point in seven games.
Small steps, sure, but they’ll take anything they can from the Toronto, Ont. native at this point.
- What would you consider to be the nail in the coffin for the Boston Bruins and the playoffs?
For me, it’d have to be a long-term injury (or anything more than say, two weeks) to Dougie Hamilton. The 21-year-old has quietly put together an absolutely stellar season, with 10 goals and 42 points in 72 games played, and has served as the B’s undeniable No. 2 defenseman behind Chara in what’s been an absolutely struggle of a comeback year from Dennis Seidenberg.
Hamilton, injured on a sandwiching hit from Nick Bjugstad and Scottie Upshall on Sat. night, has made his way back to Boston to be examined by team doctors. The general belief is that the 6-foot-5 defender will play if he’s physically able, but if he’s at significantly less than 100%, you really have to question the Bruins’ ability to ice him for heavy, top-pairing minutes for the final nine games and the potential long-term harm in doing that. Obviously, and unfortunately for their 2015 hopes, the Black and Gold simply have to heavily weigh the cons of committing Hamilton and the organization to the latter.
(The same can be said for David Krejci, who did not play this weekend like the Bruins had anticipated/hoped and is on the B’s books for over $7 million a year starting next year.)
- It’s funny, man. The things you could once rely on to be the pick-me-ups for the Boston Bruins have been anything but as of late. Two-game trips to the Sunshine State used to be the perfect bounceback opportunities for the Black and Gold. Instead, they’ll head back to Boston with one of a possible four points in their pocket and quiet murmurs of doubt turning to shouts from atop the Prudential. Sing it, Bill...
Up next
After a brutal 11 games in 18 days stretch, the Black and Gold will mercifully (in more ways than one) be off until a Thursday night affair with the Anaheim Ducks at TD Garden. The Ducks took the previous head-to-head with the B’s this year by a 3-2 final at the Honda Center back on Dec. 1.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com
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