Shot volume lacking, again.
The Boston Bruins failed to produce and get pucks to the net as they fell 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime on Monday night at the TD Garden.
Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves in the loss.
The Bruins got off to a slow start as the Sabres spent a majority of the first half of the first period on the offensive, culminating with a power-play goal from Peyton Krebs.
But then the Bruins began to find their game as Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak led the way. Geekie connected with Zacha out front for the first of two goals from the line 13 minutes into the first period. Two minutes later, Geekie added his own.
But low shot volume was yet again the Bruins’ downfall in this one. In the middle frame, the Bruins only had four shots on net. By the end of the third, they only had nine shots in 40 minutes.
Owen Power tied the game for the Sabres in the second, as his shot snuck under the crossbar.
Late third-period saves and overtime stops from Korpisalo gave the Bruins a chance, but a tripping call against Marat Khusnutdinov for tripping in overtime gave Buffalo the advantage.
The Sabres’ second, power-play goal of the night sealed the deal as a tip from Alex Tuch with 10.7 seconds remaining in overtime handed the Bruins their third consecutive loss.
“We need to create more chances, be desperate in these games,” Zacha said.
“You can’t score if you don’t shoot,” Geekie said.
Here are the game’s highlights:
First period:
Jack Quinn fed a pass to Peyton Krebs at the inside hash marks of the left-wing circle where he let a snap shot fly past Joonas Korpisalo’s glove at 4:19 of the first period on the power play. 1-0 Sabres.
Morgan Geekie found Pavel Zacha cutting to the paint where he let go a quick shot into the net at 13:00 of the first period. 1-1 tie game.
Parker Wotherspoon sprung Morgan Geekie at the far blue line down the center lane with pressure on him. Geekie held on to beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 15:13 of the first period. 2-1 Bruins.
Second period:
Owen Power tucked a wrist shot under the crossbar to tie the game at 12:48 of the second period. 2-2 game.
Third period:
No goals
Overtime:
Alex Tuch tipped in Power’s shot past Korpisalo with 10.7 seconds left in overtime, and two seconds left on the Sabres’ power play. Final score: 3-2 Sabres.
Game notes
- The Bruins sound like a broken record, but yet again, low shot totals played a role in this one’s outcome. For the second game in a row, the Bruins struggled in the middle frame and weren’t able to build on anything in the third period.
- Geekie said postgame that the team has gotten away from a shoot-first mentality. He added shot totals are not something they think about during the game, but think about after a game when not much production is generated. “We get a few chances that come off a few nice plays and then we forget that if we play off the shot, that’s where lots of things happen,” Geekie said. “Just getting back to basic. A little more meat and potatoes mindset when it comes to the o-zone will help in that category. You can’t help if you don’t shoot. Just try to get those totals up.”
- Postgame Zacha said he felt the Bruins were always “a little late” on the forecheck in the neutral zone. “When you play a lot of d-zone, you lose a lot of energy compared to o-zone,” he said.
- Interim head coach Joe Sacco said the Bruins didn’t play behind the Sabres enough and didn’t play off the shot and was likely the root why they couldn’t generate offense. If there is a silver lining, he felt the Bruins checking game in all three zones was a step in the right direction.
- Korpisalo made some great saves to keep the Bruins competitive, especially in overtime. David Pastrnak also played goalie for a bit as at one point he was on the ice making a save in OT.
- The Bruins’ top line had the most production and tried to lead the way for the team. Zacha, Geekie and Pastrnak combined for 7 of the Bruins’ 19 SOG.
- The Bruins are now three points out of the second wild card spot. The New York Rangers sit in the second spot with 72 points and a game in hand.
- The Bruins will head out west for to begin a five-game road trip on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET against the Vegas Golden Knights.