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David Pastrnak continues to score, but B's fall to Avs

December 9, 2016, 2:37 AM ET [44 Comments]
Ty Anderson
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The Boston Bruins overcame the 0-3 hole they were in not even 26 minutes into Wednesday’s eventual overtime loss to the Washington Capitals. Back in Boston on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Bruins tried to make life even harder on themselves when they were back in an 0-3 deficit, this time just 24:09 into the game. But this time, as will be the case most nights, the Bruins could not dig their way out, in what finished as a 4-2 loss to the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

In Boston without a loss to their name since Mar. 1998, the Avalanche opened the game with three straight unassisted tallies, the first from Matt Duchene, the next on a shorthanded breakaway from Nathan MacKinnon -- both in the first period -- and the third from Avalanche forward John Mitchell.

“We talked that we wanted to have a great start; I think that’s key to every team’s game is having a good start. But, for whatever reason, we’re coming out a little flat and they’re taking advantage of the opportunities,” B’s d-man Torey Krug said after the loss. “We’ve got to flip that script and somehow manage the game. We’ve got to manage the game and they come out first shift and score a goal and then we’re back on our heels. Same thing tonight, they have some players that can make some plays and we’ve just got to make sure we’re ready to play and it’s about game management at that point.”

The Bruins countered with two goals from David Pastrnak, good for No. 88’s 17th and 18th goals of the year, moving him into a tie with Sidney Crosby for the most in the entire league.

But the second period would end with the Avs’ two-goal edge reestablished by way of Carl Soderberg’s goal scored with under three minutes to play in the middle period, his fourth of the season.

“We created a lot more chances and we cut down on their lead,” Zdeno Chara said of the second period. “We took some penalties that cost us the game and from that point, we were always chasing.”

Khudobin made just 18 saves on 22 shots against in the loss, and took the blame for his team.

“It’s just four goals is too much,” the 30-year-old Khudobin said. “That's it.”

The loss put an end to a six-game point streak for the Black and Gold.

This and that

- Another bummer of a night from the B’s power play. And it’s becoming a little bit obvious in regards to what does and does not work for the club’s man advantage right now. When you watched the Bruins’ top unit a year ago, you frequently saw the movement end with the puck on Patrice Bergeron’s stick and then in the back of the net, as was the case on 12 Bergeron power-play goals a year ago.

This year, when the opposition even catches a whiff or idea of the puck going Bergeron’s way, he’s instantly swarmed by at least two, sometimes even three, of that team’s penalty killers. It’s smothered Bergeron’s ability to get his shot off, and has often left the puck stuck in someone else’s skates and sent down the other way into the B’s zone. The Avs did that again and again Thursday.

“Last year Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] found so much success in the slot there and obviously teams are going to zero in on when you have plays and things like that,” Krug admitted. “But I don’t know if we’re doing a great job enough to make the other guys threats to open up Bergy, so I think there’s a lot of things we can talk about. It’s on us to make quicker, better plays and like I said before, it’s some of our better players and we’ll take the blame for that and we’ll go to work.

- David Pastrnak might be the most dynamic scorer this franchise has ever seen on the wing. At least in this era -- over the last 30 years or so -- of B’s hockey. Kid is on pace for 56 goals this season despite missing five games thus far, and he’s not even 21 years old yet.

- The Avalanche are likely to move Jarome Iginla, who is 39 and still in pursuit of his first career Stanley Cup, this year. Some have hinted that the Bruins could have interest in a reunion given how little scoring ability they have on their wings. But let’s be real, the Bruins are not an Iginla away from competing for the Cup this year, nor is this version of Iginla going to be the one to put them there.

In a night in which Iginla was relatively invisible, it’s important for everyone to remember that 2013-14 was a painfully long time ago for everybody in Boston, and even those that have since left (looking at you, Iggy). Held to just one shot on goal, Iginla has now gone without a goal in all but one of his last 17 games played and has scored just three goals and six points in total this year, too.

And last we looked, the right side is actually the side the Bruins have found some production from, whether it’s been from David Pastrnak or David Backes. It’s the left side, with Tim Schaller and Ryan Spooner constantly rotating as the line’s second line left winger right now, that’s been an issue for the Bruins, and that’s a position that Iginla has struggled to play in his historic career. If acquired, Iginla is likely on your second and third line, and the price to acquire him is obviously over the top given the leaguewide need for scoring, veteran leadership, everything else, and the name you’d be acquiring.

In other words, let somebody else spend the assets.

Up next

The Bruins will welcome the East-worst Toronto Maple Leafs to TD Garden for a Saturday night showdown. The Leafs took the only prior head-to-head between the two this season by a 4-1 final. The Bruins have point in five straight home games against the Leafs (3-0-2 record).

Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010 and has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013. Ty is also the Boston Bruins beat writer and columnist for WEEI.com, and can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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