Recap: Bruins lack finish in 5-1 loss to Blues

The Bruins had some good looks, but didn’t finish on chances they created.

The Boston Bruins fell to the St. Louis Blues, 5-1, as they lacked finished and the Blues capitalized on their chances on Monday night at the TD Garden.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins on a night where the B’s outshot the Blues 37-22 — but just didn’t have any puck luck.

There wasn’t a shortage of opportunities for the Bruins, but rather poor execution to find the back of the net tonight.

“You’re going to have nights like this,” Jim Montgomery said.

While the Bruins got off to a slow start, the Blues found themselves up 2-0 after the first period, taking a two-goal lead at the end of the period seconds into a 5-on-3 power play.

A defensive breakdown and odd-man rush dug the Bruins into a three-goal hole on a Kevin Hayes’ tally early in the second. Then Brandon Saad, at the post, battled it out to gain control of the puck against Kevin Shattenkirk and lifted a wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman to make the score 4-0.

But the Bruins came out strong for the third period, quickly getting on the scoreboard as David Pastrnak blasted a one-timer to cut into their deficit.

Midway through the third, the Bruins tried to close the gap by pulling Swayman for the extra attacker with the offensive zone face-off. But Alexey Toropchenko would seal the deal for the Blues with a lengthy wrist shot into the empty net.

Here are the highlights:

First period:

The Blues opened at 10:13 of the first period.

Torey Krug bounced the puck off the end boards. The puck found its way to Kasperi Kapanen in the slot where he put a quick wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman. 1-0 Blues.

The Blue took a two-goal lead on a 5-on-3 power play at 17:59 of the first period.

Pavel Buchnevich fed Robert Thomas a pass at the top of the right-wing circle for a one-timer past Swayman. 2-0 Blues.

Second period:

The Blues extended their lead at 4:31 of the second period.

Kapanen slid a pass over to Kevin Hayes who went five-hole on Swayman. 3-0 Blues.

*The Bruins had a goal called back for Justin Brazeau that would have made it 3-1.

The Blues cushioned their lead at 15:25 of the second period.

Hayes sent a pass out front. At the goal post, Brandon Saad battled with Kevin Shattenkirk, but ultimately won out to lift a shot past Swayman. 4-0 Bruins.

Third period:

The Bruins scored at 1:48 of the third period.

Kevin Shattenkirk slid a pass to David Pastrnak at the point where he sent a one-timer past Joel Hofer’s blocker. 4-1 game.

The Blues netted an empty-netter at 11:27 of the third period.

As the Bruins tried to make something happen in the offensive zone with the extra attacker, Alexey Toropchenko sent a wrist shot down ice to find the empty net. Final score: 5-1 Bruins.

Game note:

• It really wasn’t that the Bruins didn’t have chances tonight, because they did. There really was no finish on some of those chances, where the Bruins either shot wide or didn’t get their sticks on the puck out front.
• A positive takeaway is the play of the fourth line. They were the most consistent and effective line out there throughout the whole game, getting pucks in deep and crashing the net. Brazeau would have had the only B’s goal if the goal wasn’t called back.
• SCOC asked Brad Marchand postgame if the fourth line’s play was an encouraging takeaway from the game at this time of the year. Marchand responded: “Got to give their line a lot of credit They tried to pull us in the fight all night long. They played the right way. They had a lot of good opportunities really, pretty good looks. We’re going to need them to continue to be like that. down the stretch here, you need four deep lines, to be able to rely on a line like that in any situation or play against any line, definitely going to need that.”
• Jim Montgomery said postgame that he didn’t like how many odd-man rushes his team gave up. He also felt the Bruins had poor intensity to start the game and it boiled down to the Blues capitalizing on that 5-on-3 power play and hitting the net throughout the game.
• The Bruins had the shots, like Montgomery said, but didn’t complete the chances. Players were going to the net, but missing wide-open nets or the passes of their teammates. The Blues also capitalized more, like on Saad’s goal on getting those backdoor opportunities.
• Montgomery said the Bruins focus is going to be making sure they win net front battles with screens and win those odd-man rushes. A loss is a loss, he said, but he’s not worried about having a game or outcome like this. The Bruins pushed in the third after Pastrnak scored and they went for it with pulling Jeremy Swayman. “You’re gonna have nights like this,” Montgomery said. “We have 91 points. We’re a good hockey team.”
• The Bruins will head to Montreal to face the Canadiens on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m.