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The hits just keep on coming for the reeling Boston Bruins.
The Bruins battled back from two separate two-goal deficits, came within inches of scoring the game-winner late in regulation and into overtime, and proceeded to go 0-for-12 in the shootout, extending their losing streak to five-straight by way of a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Wednesday night.
It was a nightmare of a start for the Black and Gold -- who at this point have probably become accustomed to ‘em -- as they were out-shot 9-to-3 in the opening seven minutes of play. The Bruins’ start was worse than shots against, though, as defensive breakdowns lit the red light behind Tuukka Rask twice.
Edmonton forward Nail Yakupov scored the game’s first goal, all alone between the circles, at the 4:29 mark of the first for his fourth goal in the last six games. The goal came with both Boston defensemen -- Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid -- and center Carl Soderberg chasing the puck-carrier behind the net, leaving the 2012 No. 1 overall pick all alone for his ninth of the season.
The breakdowns continued on into the B’s penalty-kill, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins buried home his 16th goal of the season (his first power-play goal of the year) 11:24 later, putting the hapless Bruins against the wall of Rexall Place barely 15 minutes into a showdown with the West’s worst.
But with Edmonton captain Andrew Ference whistled for a late-period trip against Bruins winger Brad Marchand, Boston coach Claude Julien made a desperation call, loading up his club’s power play unit. Sending Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, and David Krejci out as the unit’s forward trio, with Krug and Dougie Hamilton, Julien hoped for a spark. And found it.
On a downright vicious possession, the five-man unit possessed the puck cleanly, fired six shots on Oilers netminder Ben Scrivens, with Eriksson, with 20 seconds left, casually tipping a Hamilton point-drive into the Edmonton net for his 13th goal of the season. The goal was Eriksson’s first strike since his game-winner against the New York Islanders back on Feb. 7, and his first power-play goal since Dec. 6, but more importantly brought the Bruins within one of Scrivens and company after 20 minutes of play.
A trip back to the penalty kill was anything but kind to the Bruins, however, as a Marchand penalty 8:03 into the second put the Oilers back on the man advantage, and brought Teddy Purcell his seventh goal of the season (with Jordan Eberle picking up the lone assist) just 57 seconds later.
It was a shot that found a seam through Rask, and re-established Edmonton’s two-goal edge.
The Bruins flipped their switch, though, with Reilly Smith striking, and David Pastrnak following that with a goal of his own just 1:35 later, putting the Bruins-Oilers at a 3-3 stalemate through two periods of play.
Boston’s embattled penalty kill came through with two game-saving kills late in the third period, with two of their top shorthanded options in the box (Patrice Bergeron served the first penalty, Seidenberg the second), and nearly found the go-ahead goal with :04.2 left in the period had Milan Lucic’s shot not gone high above Scrivens and into the protective netting.
Lucic had another couple of looks in the scoreless overtime frame, too, but couldn’t find the back of the net, even with the puck just inches from crossing the thin red line, sending the Bruins to another shootout.
For 12 rounds, the Bruins stumbled and fumbled the puck, failing to beat Scrivens. And in the bottom of the 12th, the Oilers gave the puck to the birthday boy, Martin Marincin, who turned 23 today, with the 6-foot-4 blue liner gliding the puck through the 27-year-old Rask, pushing the Bruins to another loss.
It was yet another hard-luck loss for Rask, who stopped 27-of-30, and all but one of Edmonton’s 12 shootout shooters, while Scrivens stole the show for the Oil by way of a 38-save night, including all six shots against in the overtime frame.
With the loss, the Bruins extended their lead over the Florida Panthers to three points, and dropped to 0-1-2 on their three-game road swing with the loss, with two more stops on deck, a Friday night battle in St. Louis, and a Sunday showdown with the perennial powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks.
The outlook’s becoming bleaker by the day, and there’s no way around that anymore.
Random thoughts and notes
- Tonight was Tuukka Rask’s 46th start of the season. It was his 24th appearance in the last 25 games. He’s now paced for a 69-game season. This is just nuts. No other way to put it, really. And, though it was never made official, this was supposed to be Malcolm Subban’s start. Rightfully so, too.
The Oilers came into this game with just nine wins in 27 home games. They’re the worst team in the Western Conference. So, while you say ‘the team is in too desperate of a situation to start anybody other than Rask’. if the Oilers are one of those teams, you’re already beyond screwed. By this logic, Rask should play the next 25 games, too, because it doesn’t get much worse than the Oilers. Points are too important, right?
Yes, the Oilers have played better hockey under Todd Nelson. But still, this is not a team that should scare you out of starting your backup netminder -- Subban or even Niklas Svedberg -- especially when they’re without their most dynamic offensive weapon (Taylor Hall).
After tonight’s contest, Rask has played 2.821 minutes this season. He’s now 565 minutes away from his career high, set last season. That’s less than 10 full games of action. The Bruins, still in the thick of a playoff race, still have 25 games left to play, too. At this rate, Rask is going to smash that figure.
So, while you need points in the now, you have to wonder just how fresh Rask will be in April if the Bruins do end up getting the points they need to even qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In essence, you need to find a way to trust your backup netminder(s) for some games, even if it goes against conventional wisdom.
- In case tonight’s game didn’t tell you-- Loui Eriksson is not a salary dump. Period. The 29-year-old scored a goal, played an extremely effective game despite jumping between three different lines throughout the night, and was perhaps the B’s best penalty killer in the third period. You move him for an equal asset of sorts or you don’t move him at all. (Again, I lean towards not moving him at all. He’s consistent. That’s rare.)
- The last time the Edmonton Oilers beat the Boston Bruins before tonight? Oct. 17, 2000. Martin Marincin, the lone scorer in tonight’s shootout, was just eight years old then. Just absolutely insane.
Up next
The Bruins will make their way to St. Louis for a Friday night affair with the Blues. Boston took the previous meeting between the two, a 2-0 win on Nov. 18, and could use a similar effort to somehow right the ship here.
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