Something has got to give for the Boston Bruins with this core group of players on home ice during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It was perhaps not surprising that they looked a little tight and had arguably their worst effort of this first-round playoff series in their first game at TD Garden with Game 3’s 3-1 loss to the Sabres. Still, it was a one-goal game late into the third period, and the Bruins had their chances with a Viktor Arvidsson penalty shot, and a couple of late third-period power-play possessions, and all three games of these first-round series have been winnable for the Black and Gold if they finished off a few more plays.
That is exactly what they did in Game 2, with the second line carrying the day and scoring three of the four goals scored, while they got their typically excellent goaltending job from Jeremy Swayman, sporting a .929 save percentage in the series.
Over the last four seasons, the Bruins have been a horrific 3-9 in 12 playoff games at TD Garden, with a slew of overtime losses, and they have found ways to lose postseason games. Some of that, of course, is losing at home to the Florida Panthers, a team that went on to the Stanley Cup Final in two of those postseason series, but it also shows a pattern of not being able to win big games at home when it matters most.
The Bruins were probably hoping that a sterling 29-11-1 record on home ice this season was just going to directly translate into the playoffs, but that pretty clearly did not happen in Game 3.
Now the Bruins move on to Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 matinee at TD Garden, where they will need to find the winning formula, or head back to Buffalo down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. And they’ll also need to figure out a third period that’s seen the Sabres outscore the Bruins 8-3 thus far in the series as well.
“If I look at it period-by-period, nothing is way worse in the third. I know you guys ask me that, but I don’t see a huge change in those periods. We just need to make sure we stick with our game, and we’ve got to do it for 60 minutes. That’s what we’ve got to do,” said Sturm. “We definitely played simpler, I would say, in Game 1 and Game 2 [in Buffalo]. They probably played more of the game that we played in Buffalo [in Game 3] and it took us a while to get going.
“It shouldn’t change because when you’re at home, you should feed off the crowd and the energy. We just got to simplify everything because that is not us. We are not a fancy team. We’re really not. That’s what we have to remind ourselves.”
To Sturm’s point, the most successful forward line in Game 3 at home was the fourth line of Mark Kastelic, Tanner Jeannot and Sean Kuraly because they played a simple, straightforward style with a hustling, heavy forecheck and a direct mindset of getting pucks on net. It’s the exact kind of playing style that plays in the playoffs, particularly on home ice where teams can get overly cute trying to put on a show for the home fans.
• It most definitely felt like 19-year-old James Hagens was going to get at least one playoff game off to take a deep breath and watch the action from the ninth floor as a healthy scratch, and that was confirmed by Marco Sturm after Saturday’s practice. Hagens registered the lowest ice time total of his brief NHL career (9:53) and was pulled off both the second power play unit and his usual spot on the third line late in Game 3 in favor of veteran forward Casey Mittelstadt.
“[Hagens] has given us everything he has, but he made more mistakes last game [in Game 3] than he’d done in the past,” admitted Sturm of the youngster, who seemed a little overwhelmed by the physicality and, for the first time, looked unable to keep up with the pace around him during the game.
Hagens has looked a little over-excited when he’s found himself with the puck on the PP with opportunities to create offensively, and he’s fanned on several one-timer attempts on the man advantage during this first-round series against Buffalo.
The coup de grace was probably Hagens being stuck on the ice for one shift while eventually watching as Bowen Byram’s point shot deflected off his blade and went into the back of the net for Buffalo’s first goal.
None of this is to indict Hagens at this stage of his career as much as it is to confirm that he was not fully ready for the playoff opportunity he’s been given, as consistency remains elusive for him, as it does for every young player.
“It’s the consistency that’s the hardest part for those young kids. You need the experience, and you need [to play in] those games to go through it. That’s what we have right now. Can they stay consistent?” said Sturm of the entire third “kid” line of Hagens, Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov that managed just one shot on net in Game 3. “It was a little drop [in Game 3] yesterday. It was some individual mistakes, yes…it’s hard, especially in the playoffs.
“My job is to put the best guys on the ice who I think gives us the best chance, and if somebody else I believe can do that, I do that.”
The other side of scratching Hagens could have been inserting a player like veteran forward Mikey Eyssimont, or Alex Steeves as well, is that they are strong on the forecheck, will mix it up physically and get under the skin of the Buffalo players and would have no trouble crowding goaltender Alex Lyon as so many Sabres skaters have done to Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman to this point in the series.
Instead, Sturm opted for newly acquired forward Lukas Reichel, saying that his “high-end speed and skill” are something the Bruins lack in their lineup, with the hope he can get in on the forecheck and make things happen. Making the move could kill two proverbial birds with one stone by firming up a bit of a weak link in the lineup and adding another guy that is tough to play against to a Bruins group that wasn’t all that tough to play against in Game 3 on Thursday night.
• It also appeared that Jordan Harris might be subbing in for Mason Lohrei for Game 4 based on the line rushes at Saturday’s practice, but Sturm was non-committal on that one and said it would be based on some bumps and bruises with his defensemen group.
• The B’s bench boss and the Bruins have seemingly had enough of the Sabres playing, crashing the net, and poking at Jeremy Swayman after the puck has been covered and the whistle has been blown. The on-ice officials even called Morgan Geekie for a penalty, taking issue with one of those swipes at the B’s netminder in a Sabres strategy that very clearly is trying to even out a distinct goalie advantage for the Black and Gold in the series.
“We addressed it [with the league]. Happened [in Game 3] again,” said Sturm. “That’s one way they try to [make Swayman uncomfortable] and have been doing it the three games. Just seems like we didn’t get a call yet, so I’m waiting too…but it’s obviously not in my control.”
Swayman said he’s chatted with the referees about what is going on and that the goalie feels like he’s got an understanding with them about what is going over the line, but that his first concern is stopping the puck…as it should be.
“I thought the refs and I had a good conversation and…the point [I was getting] across is that if you get slashed, it’ll get contested and [to] understand you know [that] initiation as a piece but again that’s not my job,” said Swayman, who has a very strong .929 save percentage during the playoffs thus far. “My job is to stop the puck. So I think we can all do our jobs to a high level, and we’re just going to move on with whatever happens.”
The bottom line is that the Sabres haven’t been called yet for any of the “accidental” runs at the Boston net from Zach Benson in the first couple of games in the series, or from the excessive shoveling and scrapping at frozen pucks around Swayman. And it isn’t likely to stop until a penalty is called, or the Bruins are allowed to protect their goalie as has been the standard allowed traditionally during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
