Bruins come up just short in last-minute loss to Ducks
The Bruins were 21.6 seconds away from stealing at least one point at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
Playing on the second leg of a back-to-back, their third game in four nights, and fourth game in six days, that’s huge. That’s without even getting into the fact that the Bruins erased a two-goal deficit with goals from Nick Foligno and David Pastrnak.
But a brutal turnover from Craig Smith pinned the Bruins in their own zone, gassed Charlie McAvoy and Co. all the way into a hooking penalty against Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, and paved the way for a Trevor Zegras game-winning goal for a 4-3 win.
JD ➡️ Z
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) March 2, 2022
Going out with a BANG! #FlyTogether | @tzegras11 pic.twitter.com/SHjvwyXnGl
Brutal. The only way to describe it.
Especially with the way the Bruins fought back to put themselves in position for the steal.
The Bruins make it a one-goal game.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 2, 2022
The fourth line cashes in once again — with Carlo's shot sneaking past Gibson.
3-2 game. pic.twitter.com/RKcmufAQYf
Down 3-1 after a sluggish and sloppy opening frame, a Brandon Carlo goal with Foligno and Tomas Nosek jamming away in front of John Gibson put the Bruins within one through 40 minutes of play. and David Pastrnak knotted things up just 1:52 into the third period of play. In the blink of an eye, and tired legs be damned, the Bruins were in position to win it.
But the B’s could not find that go-ahead goal over Gibson despite a 13-shot barrage in the third period.
Linus Ullmark got the call in the Boston net and finished with 24 saves in the loss. The numbers paint the picture of an average night for the 6-foot-4 Ullmark, but he was mostly good when he needed to be prior to the game-winning goal from Zegras, and came through with some key stops in the third period, including a series of rapid-fire stops on Zegras and Rickard Rakell back-to-back from high-danger areas. Ullmark’s best work undoubtedly against the Ducks’ Adam Henrique, too, as Henrique was all alone with a minute and change left in regulation after that brutal turnover from Smith.
The B’s road trip will ride on with a Thursday night meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights. This will be the Black and Gold’s second 2021-22 meeting with the Knights, and their first look at ex-Sabres captain Jack Eichel in a Vegas sweater.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
