Bruins fall 2-1 to Utah Hockey Club in overtime
The Boston Bruins fell to 3-2-1 on the season with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday night at Delta Center.
David Pastrnak got whistled for tripping early in the OT period, then Utah cashed in with a missile of a wrist shot by Michael Kesselring to complete the come-from-behind victory over Boston. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman kept the Bruins in it with a 31-of-33 (.939) performance in goal, but it wasn’t quite enough to earn two points.
The teams played a scoreless first period, but the B’s were fortunate to escape without allowing a goal. They committed 11 giveaways in the opening 20 minutes alone, and got out-shot 10-6. Utah peppered Boston at 5-on-5 with a 20-9 advantage in shot attempts. The Bruins ended up with a season-high 22 giveaways in a sloppy loss.
Despite continuing to get out-shot in the second period, the Bruins found a way to be first on the scoreboard. Captain Brad Marchand sparked the offensive rush with a takeaway, then poked the puck to his teammate Cole Koepke, who streaked down the right boards and fired it through the five-hole of Utah goaltender Connor Ingram to make it 1-0.
Koepke is already up to three goals and three assists on the young season, which has seen the Bruins’ fourth line dominate the box score.
Utah briefly believed it had tied the game, off the stick of Kailer Yamamoto. But Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery challenged the play for offside and won, putting his team back on top 1-0.
Utah out-shot the B’s 3-0 in the overtime period, the majority of which was spent on the man advantage. Boston ends up with one point after coming within minutes of stealing two on the road.
Up Next: The Bruins will regroup and head to Nashville, where they will conclude their Western Conference road trip against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
