Bruins react to difference-making goal, failed challenge vs Canucks
BOSTON — The Bruins lost by the slimmest of margins to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, and they also felt confident that the difference-making goal would come off the board.
It was old friend Jake DeBrusk (because of course) who tucked in the eventual game-winning goal for his new team, all the offense they’d need in a 2-0 shutout win over the B’s at TD Garden. Parked at the right place at the right time and holding his own against Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke, DeBrusk tapped in a fortuitous bounce after Quinn Hughes’ point shot deflected off Canucks winger Conor Garland.
But Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman had different plans for the Canucks after the puck went in, and so did head coach Joe Sacco. The B’s promptly challenged the goal for a hand-pass.
Unfortunately for Sacco, Swayman, and the B’s, the call on the ice stood. Not enough in the replay for the officials to definitively say the puck deflected off Garland’s glove.
Surely the officials’ tablets aren’t good-enough quality to see where that puck hit. But it was no harm, no foul for the Bruins, who killed off the ensuing delay of game penalty and moved on. But Sacco sounded sure that he thought the game would remain scoreless after his challenge.
“I was [confident] just because of what happened in the past,” Sacco said. “I remember a play where it hit one of our guys’ gloves, and one of our players didn’t move his hand at all and they called it. … It hit [Garland’s] hand, and it went to the eventual goal scorer. Yeah, I thought I was confident, otherwise we wouldn’t have made the call [to challenge].”
Sacco is ostensibly thinking of a disallowed goal from Game 6 of the Bruins’ 2023 playoff series against the Florida Panthers. Ironically, it was DeBrusk who grazed the puck with his glove prior to the goal, which nullified it upon review.
Fast-forward back to Tuesday night. Swayman actually thought it might’ve been a high-stick.
“Obviously I didn’t see the replay, but if I’m reaching up, I know that I’m above the crossbar there,” Swayman said. “So, I thought originally it was a high-stick. I talked to [the official] and he said the replay didn’t show that. It was an unfortunate bounce. That’s hockey.
“We have to go forward, and I think we did a good job of that and kept pressing and did our job well. We just didn’t get the result.”
Despite the drama of the one goal and the somewhat controversial nature of it, the big story in the game was the Bruins’ missed opportunities at the offensive end. They out-shot the Canucks 32-15 on the night, and had a staggering 27-8 advantage in five-on-five scoring chances, as well as a 13-1 edge in high-danger chances. The term “snakebit” comes to mind for this one.
The Bruins have to regroup quickly, because they’re turning around and heading to New York to take on the Islanders in the second leg of a back-to-back on Wednesday night.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
3 Stars: Bruins stymied by Canucks' Lankinen in shutout loss
Third Star: Pavel Zacha
Nov 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) shoots the puck during the first period against the Calgary Flames at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)
The Bruins absolutely need more out of their top-six forward grouping, there’s no doubt about that. And just about everybody within that group is currently performing below their expected level. But Tuesday felt like a definite step in the right direction for B’s forward Pavel Zacha, who had one of his more complete games of the season despite the obvious 0-0-0 goose egg to his name in the box score.
Deployed for 19:53 of action, Zacha finished this contest with two shots, a hit, and a takeaway, and also collected wins in eight of his 13 battles at the dot for a 62 percent success rate. And at five-on-five, the Bruins straight-up owned the puck with Zacha out there, with an 18-1 shot-attempt advantage and 10-0 shots edge in his 15:01.
Zacha also had a great look on the power play, and had a tremendous feed for a David Pastrnak breakaway that did not go the Bruins’ way in the second period.
What’s interesting here is that Zacha remains without a point during the three-game sample of the Sacco Era, but he has been one of the more noticeable forwards, with 11 shots on goal and wins in 25 of his 40 faceoffs overall.
Second Star: Jake DeBrusk
Nov 26, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Canucks left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) is congratulated by smiling teammates after scoring on his former team, the Boston Bruins during the second period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
Just knowing how these things tend to go, and especially how they went for him at times throughout his Boston tenure, Jake DeBrusk scoring in his first game back in Boston had to feel like the lock of all locks, right? And sure enough, that’s exactly what it was, as DeBrusk scored the only non-empty net strike in this contest.
Beyond the goal, DeBrusk was tied for the most shots among all Vancouver skaters, with three.
And in case you’re wondering, DeBrusk is currently paced for what would be a career-high 57 points this season.
First Star: Kevin Lankinen
Nov 26, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm (28) tries to get to a loose puck next to Vancouver Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen (32) during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)
When it’s your night, it’s your night, and Tuesday night at TD Garden was Kevin Lankinen‘s night.
Peppered for 33 shots (though the total was later dropped down to 32), Lankinen refused to give the Bruins much of anything, and slammed the door on the Bruins for a shutout victory. It was a night that at times featured the 6-foot-2 Finn swimming around in his crease, sure, but the puck never crossed the line, with feelings of “How the hell did that stay out?” becoming borderline constant throughout the second half of this contest.
Lankinen’s night, which was headlined by a perfect 13-for-13 effort on high-danger shots (per NaturalStatTrick), also extended what’s been a dominating road run to date, with an 8-0-0 record and .941 save percentage away from Vancouver this season. That .941 save percentage, by the way, is the best among goaltenders with at least seven road starts this season.
