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Bruins collapse late, fall to Ducks by 5-3 final

February 23, 2017, 3:11 AM ET [69 Comments]
Ty Anderson
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Boston Bruins interim head coach Bruce Cassidy was given his first real test behind the bench on Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks. It wasn’t a total failure, but it was not the A-plus that the 51-year-old had earned in his first four games, as the Bruins fell to the Ducks by a 5-3 final.

The Bruins carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to a Brandon Carlo goal scored right off the faceoff at the 9:02 mark of the first period, good for Carlo’s fifth goal of the season.

But it was in the second period that the Bruins ran into some serious trouble.

Ondrej Kase tied things up just two minutes into the second period. But when the Bruins countered behind a David Pastrnak power-play bomb, the refs are on the ice ruled that there was incidental contact with Jonathan Bernier from the Bruins’ Brad Marchand, and the goal was called off. So Cassidy, who errs on the side of aggression, decided to challenge the goal.

That was a mistake.

Not just because the Bruins rarely win challenges. Not because you’re basically asking a referee to say that he’s wrong in an arena full of people. Not because said referee is reviewing the play on a Gameboy from 1995. But because the loss took a timeout away from a Bruins group that’s proven more than capable of scoring goals, and did not allow the Bruins the option to challenge a real play.

Which is exactly what happened.

Although the Bruins tied things up just moments after the Pastrnak non-goal behind Zdeno Chara’s slapper from the point, the Ducks tied things up just 47 seconds after that behind Rickard Rakell’s 23rd goal of the season, and took the lead with a Josh Manson goal scored at 13:12.

The Manson goal, by the way, about a good foot offside. But the B’s could not do a thing about it.

“In hindsight, I messed up,” Cassidy admitted to the NESN when asked about his challenge and subsequent Manson goal against. “It’s disappointing because clearly that was a good foot offside. It’s a tough way to give up a goal, but that was a decision I made, and it was the wrong one.”

With their lines jumbled, the Bruins answered with a Frank Vatrano goal midway through the period, but were caught with a rather unfavorable five-man unit out there against a hot Ducks line with less than five minutes to go. The Miller defensemen, who fought the puck relentlessly throughout the night, were on the backend, while a mix-and-match third line of Dominic Moore, Riley Nash, and Ryan Spooner, a trio with very little familiarity with one another, were given the defensive responsibilities of a near must-win game with under three minutes to go.

That, again, was a mistake, as Rakell’s second of the game made it 4-3 with just 2:34 left in the third.

But it’s one that the Bruins will have to learn from the hard way, as the Ducks left the Honda Center with a 5-3 win after an Andrew Cogliano empty-net dagger, which pushes the Bruins’ struggles in Anaheim’s building to four straight, with their last win in Orange County coming back in Mar. 2012.

This and that

- So, here’s a problem for the Bruins: Of their 24 regulation losses this season, nine have come with their opponent scoring the game-winning goal in the final five minutes of a period. It’s happened five times in the third period, too, as the Bruins have a combined 7:23 separating them from at least five extra points. Lock those down and your B’s are just one point out of first in the Atlantic. Sounds weird to say, but the Black and Gold are once again having trouble losing the right way.

- With a goal tonight, Zdeno Chara moved into a tie with Brad Park for fourth place on the club’s all-time defensemen scoring list, with 417 points. Up next for the 39-year-old Chara? Dit Clapper at 435, Bobby Orr at 888, and Ray Bourque at 1,506. Have a feeling the top two spots are safe.

- Honda Center? More like Horror Center for Tuukka Rask. He’s now 0-4-0 with 16 goals on 104 shots against (.846 save percentage) in four career games in Anaheim. It’s one of three buildings where Rask has yet to record a win, with DC’s Verizon Center and the Kings’ Staples Center being the others.

- The Ducks should get rid of those horrible regular uniforms and switch to these orange ones on a full-time basis. The decision to get rid of the Duck goalie mask in the first place was dumb. Fix it. Also, here’s a weird thing: the Bruins are 1-6-0 in games played in Anaheim since the Ducks dropped the Mighty from their name. Maybe that’s another reason to bring ‘em back, who knows?

Up next

The Bruins have a quick turnaround with a Thursday night head-to-head against the Kings.

Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal magazine, and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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