On the one hand, Sunday night’s Stadium Series outdoor game between the Bruins and Lightning was pure hockey theatre with entertainment value galore. For a league with declining TV ratings in its outdoor games, it was exactly what the doctor ordered, with rave reviews by those who were on hand to watch it.
The goalie fight alone made it stand out as a fan viewing experience, and it seemed like the B’s and Bolts players – and coaches – all got the memo that this was supposed to be a spectacle that fans would want to watch.
“It was a hell of a game for the fans…entertaining,” said Pastrnak. “It’s good for hockey. But for us as players we left points here and didn’t get it done.”
They got all that in a 6-5 shootout win for Tampa Bay over the Bruins at Raymond James Stadium as the B’s continue to pile up points, headed full steam ahead into the Olympic break in a couple of days. Morgan Geekie scored a couple of goals, young, support players like Alex Steeves and Matt Poitras got on the board, and Jeremy Swayman was stellar in the third period and overtime as the intensity dial got cranked up a couple of notches.
But big games against quality opponents can also reveal the nagging flaws within a hockey team, and that was the case in Tampa on Sunday night as Boston’s penchant for penalties and sometimes flimsy defense translated into an eventual loss for the Black and Gold. And they have now allowed power play goals in six of the last seven games with a penalty kill unit that’s been stressed to the max pretty much all season. It’s too bad because there were so many things to smile about with the B’s involvement in the outdoor game, including all of the players getting dressed up as the founding fathers, complete with old school wigs and George Washington outfits.
But the bottom line was that the Bruins blew a 5-1 lead while giving up three power-play goals in the second half of the second period. Time and time again this season, they have shot themselves in the foot with penalties, and it was self-inflicted issues once again this time around when they had a game well in hand.
Perhaps even more concerning was that, this time around, they were actively looking to blame the referees for being shorthanded in addition to their own careless play at times.
“It hurts…it hurts a lot. The way we lost that game was brutal, and we spent half the game in the penalty box,” said Charlie McAvoy.
The Bruins alternate captain was then asked when he thought the game turned in favor of the Lightning.
“When they had a 5-on-3 [power play] for like eight minutes,” said McAvoy, flatly. “It just killed our momentum. It killed the game, really. It was a good game before that and then we were in the box for the whole period. The goalie fight is fun and it was really cool for Sway, and for us, but after that we just kept taking penalties.
“We had complete control of the game and you give a team like that with that kind of power play for however long that was, you are just asking for trouble.”
The biggest complaint was about an apparent game-winning goal for David Pastrnak in overtime on a 2-on-1 odd man rush that was ultimately blown dead with Pastrnak actually getting called for slashing on a delayed penalty call. One could hear the back referee furiously blowing his whistle as the Bruins carried the puck into the offensive zone and eventually fanned out into the odd-man rush with Pastrnak filling up the net.
