In terms of self-inflicted losses, Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Kraken has to be up there for the 2023-24 Bruins.
Calling it a ‘self-inflicted loss’ may be putting it lightly, in fact. This was a comedy of errors for the Bruins.
It started when Jeremy Swayman couldn’t gobble up a rebound on a stoppable shot — and then lost the puck — en route to an easy-as-can-be Jordan Eberle tap-in to knot things up at 1-1 in a game that the Bruins had absolutely dominated to that point. The shots were 11-1 in favor of the Bruins when Eberle received the pass that led to his shot, rebound, and goal.
And it continued in the second period when Brandon Carlo blew a tire and gave Seattle a 3-on-1 chance they would not miss. Oh, and just for good measure, Parker Wotherspoon and the Bruins continued their nightmare night with a puck right into a Seattle shin, which gave the Kraken an odd-man rush finished (and with ease) by Matty Beniers.
At a certain point, all you could do was shake your head.
Especially when you looked at what the Bruins were doing at the other end. For as frustrating of a game as this was for the Bruins when it came to their own mistakes ending up in the back of their net, the Bruins put forth an offensive attack that wins ’em a game most nights. But on this night, and similar to Tuesday against the Lightning, the Bruins’ near-goals vastly outweighed their actual goals, with multiple post shots and a few strong, high-quality looks that went just wide.
Third Star: David Pastrnak
Feb 15, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) takes a shot against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
It’s not a goal that’ll make David Pastrnak’s end-of-season highlight reel, but had it known been for Pastrnak’s game-opening strike less than five minutes into this game, the Bruins would’ve had a big ol’ donut to their name Thursday.
David Pastrnak knocks home his 34th goal of the season.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 16, 2024
Good things happen when you put pucks on net — as was the case here with Pavel Zacha.
1-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/FfehfVj6UXAnd as has been the case most nights, Pastrnak was the driving force of the Black and Gold offense, and finished this game with a team-high seven shots on goal in 23:27 of time on ice. Pastrnak attempted 14 shots, too, which was a staggering six more attempts than the next-closest Bruin.
Pastrnak was also part of the line that clearly dominated this game, too, as he skated to the right of Pavel Zacha and Jake DeBrusk in this contest. In 9:25 of five-on-five ice together on Thursday night, the DeBrusk-Zacha-Pastrnak line out-attempted the Kraken 20-5, outshot them 9-2, out-chanced them 11-2, and (obviously) scored Boston’s only goal.
Second Star: Matty Beniers
Feb 15, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
There’s no doubt that Hingham, Mass. native Matty Beniers gets up for games against his hometown B’s.
In just his third career head-to-head with Boston, Beniers led the charge for the Kraken in this contest, with one goal and two assists, along with wins in eight of his 14 battles at the dot.
Hingham, MA native Matty Beniers was fired up after his goal in Boston. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/kxiXsqQqzN
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 16, 2024Beniers, who was drafted by the Kraken with the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, is up to three goals and five points in just three games against the B’s.
First Star: Joey Daccord
Feb 15, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord (35) reacts after a game against the Boston Bruins during the third period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
Not to be outdone by a South Shore kid, North Andover, Mass. native Joey Daccord stood tall in the Seattle crease, and finished this game with stops on 36 of the 37 shots he faced.
The eye-test told the story in this one, but in the event that it didn’t, Daccord finished this game with an expected goals against of 3.83 (per NaturalStatTrick), but limited the Bruins to just one goal. It was a night that also saw Daccord, who has become a darkhorse contender in the Vezina race, turn aside 10 of 11 high-danger shots faced.
