The Boston Bruins fell into a 5-0 hole before showing any life late in a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. The defeat dropped them from first place in the Atlantic Division. Bruins coach Marco Sturm called the performance “very, very flat” in his post-game comments. He noted that only David Pastrnak’s line generated offense early in the match.
Sturm hopes the loss is a wake-up call for his squad. “Hopefully, a good lesson,” the coach said after the game. The team had won four straight games overall and seven straight at home before this collapse. It marked the first time the Bruins allowed five goals in a single game this season. The loss ended the team’s long winning streak.
Casey Mittelstadt scored both Boston goals in the defeat. Elias Lindholm recorded the primary assists on both of those goals. Lindholm has logged points in each of his last five games. He has three goals and three assists during that hot streak.
Starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on just 17 shots. He was pulled early for Michael DiPietro in relief. This marked the first time Sturm has pulled his starting goalie early this season. Swayman admitted the moment was tough for him to handle. “You never want to (get pulled) and you care so much, especially when you’re feeling good, which I was,” Swayman said.
The Bruins now face a Minnesota Wild team that is unbeaten in its last 10 games. The Wild hold an 8-0-2 record in that span. They have won seven straight games on the road. Matt Boldy scored his sixth career hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Boldy scored his second hat trick of the season.
The Wild are the current leaders in the Western Conference. Behind an active 10-game point streak, they reach Boston aiming for a regular-season sweep. The team looks to continue their dominance over the Bruins. The two sides are meeting for the second and final time of the regular season.
Sturm acknowledged the team got out of rhythm after a long break. “I think the three or four days off was a long stretch (and we) got out of our rhythm a little bit,” he said. He believes the biggest thing for the team is to get back to their game. The coach also noted it is good to have games against really good opponents.
At TD Garden, the Bruins and Wild are scheduled to meet on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air on NESN.
