Not all ‘loser points’ are created equal.
In fact, the point banked away by the Bruins in Monday’s shootout loss to the Avalanche at Denver’s Ball Arena is something that dare I say the Bruins should almost feel good about earning.
Matched up against the speedier and more skillful Avalanche, the Bruins erased two separate deficits in regulation, and even survived a late-game penalty kill to send this game to overtime. (It was one of six trips to the kill the Bruins made throughout the night, and without defenseman and penalty-killing rock Brandon Carlo for the third period).
The Avs should’ve ended things on that late-game power-play opportunity, too, if we’re being honest. Cale Makar was set up for a beauty of a one-time bomb from about eight feet out with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. It didn’t go. And then Nathan MacKinnon found himself alone in front of the Boston net about 30 seconds later. How many teams out there can survive two close calls with talents like that?