Bruins lose 3-1 to Senators to close out regular season
The Boston Bruins closed out the regular season with another loss on Tuesday night, this time at the hands of the Ottawa Senators by a 3-1 final.
The first period was essentially a continuation of the Bruins’ loss in Washington, D.C. on Monday night, as the Senators (the hockey team, not the congresspeople) out-shot them 11-3. Ottawa also held a 4-1 advantage in the all-important high-danger chances at 5-on-5.
Midway through the second period, the Sens finally broke through. They scored two goals in a span of 51 seconds, first off the stick of Jiri Smejkal for his first career NHL goal. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun made it 2-0 after a Charlie Coyle turnover at his own blue line, beating B’s goaltender Linus Ullmark with a wrister from the faceoff dot.
Jakob Chychrun gives the Sens a 2-0 lead over the Bruins! pic.twitter.com/NJfLSDp2Md
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 17, 2024
The Bruins battled back to eventually take the lead in shots on goal during the third period, but it took a power play opportunity to finally pot their only goal of the night. Pavel Zacha gathered a rebound and roofed a backhand to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
Zacha officially set a new career-high in single-season points with 58, and crossed the 20-goal mark for the second straight year.
Pav on the power play. pic.twitter.com/VWhsbcOgXH
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 17, 2024
The Bruins had a golden opportunity to tie the game with a power play and Ullmark pulled, but an ill-advised pass attempt by David Pastrnak gave it directly to the Sens’ Artem Zub, who immediately fired the puck into the empty net to put the game away for good.
With the loss, the Bruins finished the regular season with a 47-20-15 record, good for 109 points. As of the conclusion of the game, their status in the Atlantic Division and their playoff seeding had yet to be determined. They will face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.
Bruins make roster moves up front for Game 82
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Ben Harpur (5) controls the puck in front of Boston Bruins center Jayson Megna (20) during the first period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
A veteran of 203 NHL games since 2013, Megna spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Anaheim, with two goals and eight points in 41 games for the Ducks. Megna actually began the 2022-23 NHL season with the Avalanche, and had 20 hits and a 50.7 faceoff percentage in 14 games with Colorado, but was claimed off waivers by the Ducks in December.
Whether or not this is the Bruins simply rewarding a good, veteran soldier with what could be one final NHL game or getting a look at a potential fourth-line element for the playoffs, Megna is expected to slot in as a fourth-line type.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 05: John Beecher #19 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 05, 2023 in New York City. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
To make room for Megna, the Bruins have assigned Johnny Beecher to Providence.
This feels like yet another case of the Bruins — an obvious money-in, money-out kind of team because of their cap situation — using Beecher’s contract to their advantage more than anything else, as Beecher can be shuttled back and forth from Boston to Providence without needing waivers.
The 23-year-old Beecher has posted two goals and three points, along with 23 hits and nine blocks, in 13 games with the Bruins since being called back up to the NHL club in March. Beecher also won 65 of his 114 total faceoffs on his latest NHL recall, good for a 57 percent success rate at the dot.
