Not great.
After coming from behind twice on the afternoon, the Bruins allowed a game-winning goal in the final 90 seconds of regulation and fell to the Flyers in Philadelphia, 3-2.
Tyson Forester’s snap shot off the rush beat Linus Ullmark to give the Flyers the late lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The loss was the Bruins’ second regulation loss in a row, a rare feat in this OTL/SOL-filled season.
Justin Brazeau scored in his third straight game, while Danton Heinen scored the Bruins’ second goal.
Travis Konecny led the way for Philly, scoring his 29th and 30th goals of the year.
After a scoreless first period, Konecny made it 1-0 Flyers with a power play goal with just over a minute left in the second period.
Konecny breaks the ice on the powerplay pic.twitter.com/exeWLsQr9h
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 23, 2024
Brazeau would tie it for the Bruins midway through the third period, taking it TO THE HOOP and slipping it home to make it a 1-1 game.
What a move by Brazeau to tie it pic.twitter.com/iegsnixN3h
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 23, 2024
That was it until the final five minutes of the third period, when the chaos began.
Konecny made it 2-1 Flyers with 4:44 left in the third…
Travis Konecny doing $9mil things. His 30th of the year gives the Flyers a MASSIVE 2-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/usvyOqbo33
— Tie My Skates (@tiemyskatespod) March 23, 2024
…only to have Heinen make it a 2-2 game 56 seconds later.
What a feed from Geekie to Heinen pic.twitter.com/QMC4RkiEdi
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 23, 2024
Another OT game for the B’s? Not today. Foerster would beat Ullmark just over two minutes after Heinen’s goal, making it 3-2 Flyers.
WHAT A SHOT BY TYSON FOERSTER. WOW. 3-2!!!! pic.twitter.com/sJ7g1zFhz6
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) March 23, 2024
And that was it! 3-2, Flyers win.
Game notes
- Woof. That one stings, as it’s tough to see a team twice come back from third-period deficits only to then lose in regulation.
- I’m curious what the group thinks: Ullmark very much kept the Bruins in the game for stretches of the second period, but I feel like he should be expected to save one of those two third period goals. Unless the Foerster one got tipped late, it seemed like he was just beaten cleanly. It was a great shot, but…one you’d like to have back.
- The Bruins’ power play came up empty again, going 0-for-2.
- The first period unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Brad Marchand was one of the worst calls of the season, if not the worst. If you missed it, Marchand was caught by a borderline knee-on-knee hit from Erik Johnson — best case it was a trip, worst case it was a kneeing penalty. The refs decided it was nothing, only to then give Marchand the penalty for slamming his stick against the boards repeatedly and slamming the bench door. Always good to compound a bad missed call by making a sensitive subsequent call.
- In the “good news” file, two of the season’s best stories for the B’s were the ones who cashed in today: Brazeau continues to impress, while Heinen’s goal was his 14th. For a guy who started the season on a tryout, Heinen has been gold for the B’s.
- In his return to the lineup after two healthy scratches, Philly captain Sean Couturier had no points, one shot, and two hits in just over 13 minutes TOI. Not sure that gets you out of John Tortorella’s dog house.
The B’s will fly home Saturday evening, enjoy some brief home cooking, then head out to Florida for Tuesday’s game against the Panthers.
Depending on how Saturday night’s Panthers-Rangers game goes, that one could be a tilt that (temporarily, at least) decides first place.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!