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The Bruins could not hang their heads, as easy as that would have been, after they were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by way of Sunday’s Game 6 overtime loss in Boston.
“I think it was apparent to everybody that we weren’t at full strength, and guys had to step up, and we talked about it. Other guys got an opportunity. I thought they did very well. So, yeah, I’m proud of the guys’ effort from February 9 on,” Bruins interim head coach Bruce Cassidy, who helped guide the Bruins back to the postseason with an 18-8-1 finish the regular season, said. “We put ourselves in a position to be here in the first place. I think we played well enough to have the opportunity to advance, but they made a few more plays than us. Every game could have went either way.”
It was a six-game series that saw the Bruins skate without three-quarters of their top four defense corps from the regular season, and without David Krejci for all but two games of the series. Still, they battled hard, and gave themselves a chance in every game, which was decided by one goal.
But when Clarke MacArthur came through with a power-play goal in overtime -- the Sens’ second game-winning, overtime power-play goal of the series -- the Black and Gold’s season came to an end.
“I thought we showed a lot of character to get back in games and we didn’t make it easy on ourselves by any means. There were a lot of penalties whether it was late in games or in overtime. But at the same time, very proud of everyone,” Patrice Bergeron said. “A lot of guys came in the lineup with not much experience and were asked to play a different role and they did it. It was impressive to see that and it was next man up every time and I think it was great experience for the young guys.”
“We battled hard you know ever since after the coaching change we really came together as a group,” Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, who finished his first playoff series since 2014 with two wins and a .920 save percentage in six games, said. “We got in the playoffs, played hard as a group, and then played a heck of a series and every game is a one goal game so it was a hard-fought series that didn’t go our way. Besides that, I think everybody, everybody here should be proud of the way we battled.”
For the Bruins, it was simply a case of running out of gas.
A day and a half after a 90-minute Game 5 victory, and after penalty kill after penalty kill, a second period deficit forced the Bruins to roll 10 forwards in the third period (Matt Beleskey and Frank Vatrano were taken out of the mix), and it showed as the overall effectiveness of the Patrice Bergeron line seemed to wane after Bergeron came through with the game-tying goal early in the third period.
“At some point, if you have to play hard minutes, it will catch up to you. I think they’re well conditioned. I thought the third period showed they were fine. I thought they dominated,” Cassidy said. “They were going to play a lot no matter what. That’s just the way it was. You need your best players to be your best players. They knew going into this game. I thought they responded very well.
“Unfortunately, not quite enough.”
This and that
- Biggest difference in this series? The special teams battle, which was dominated by the Sens when the stakes were at their highest. The Bruins went 3-for-16 on the power play. They missed Torey Krug (and badly) there, as the club could not find the go-ahead goal with a late-game power-play opportunity in the third period of a tied Game 6. The Bruins also surrendered five power-play goals, including two in overtime (and one about 10 seconds after an overtime penalty expired in Game 2). That is where they missed puck-eating d-men like Brandon Carlo and Adam McQuaid.
- This team reminds me a lot of that 2008 team that gave it all their all despite a great number of injuries before ultimately falling to the Canadiens in seven games. You would have liked another game or round of experience for many of the B’s young pieces, but you’re nuts if you don’t walk away from this series with a positive outlook given the sneak peek at a guy like Charlie McAvoy.
- Has this series changed your mind on who you want to see the Bruins protect in the upcoming expansion draft? Personally, I’ve flipped on the Miller defensemen. For much of the year, I said that the puck-moving Colin Miller is a guy that the Bruins should protect given his potential and where this league is trending. But after watching the minutes, especially those hard minutes, eaten up by Kevan Miller, I can’t help but feel as if he’s worth keeping around for the Black and Gold.
Up next
One hell of an offseason.
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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