Boston: When a team loses by four goals, they usually decide to “burn the tape” and move on. It’s usually saved for situations where there isn’t much to learn from them other than to not let them impact the next game.
The most recent instance of this kind of game occurred when the Boston Bruins lost 5-1 to the New York Islanders on March 2. Following four games of consecutive wins and a week of impressive play, the Bruins fell short of their winning streak on Monday, losing 5-1 to the St. Louis Blues.
The loss on Monday, though, wasn’t exactly like the others. Although they didn’t play well in the first period, the Bruins lacked the spark to get going. By the end of the first period, St. Louis had placed the Blues ahead 2-0 thanks to a careless off-the-boards goal and a 5-on-3 penalty play. Joel Hofer played a fantastic game in goal, making 36 stops, making it impossible for the opposition to rally.
“I believe you’re prepared for the game. “I don’t think it was something we had today from the start,” Pavel Zacha remarked following the match. As players, that is something we need to be ready for. We simply didn’t put it on the ice there as players, and by the time we started playing, it was a little bit too late. I believe we know precisely what to do and how to play against them.
At 5-on-5, the Bruins outshot St. Louis 32–16. Based on Natural Stat Trick, they created 17. high-danger scoring opportunities, eight of which came in the third quarter, and ended up with 3.28 anticipated goals for. There were only 1.68 anticipated goals for the Blues.
