It’s been a season to remember — to date, anyway — for the Bruins.

But that season, which has already come with its fair share of team and individual accolades and with more still on the table between now and Game 82, hit its undeniable low point Tuesday night in Chicago. In what should’ve been an absolute ‘get right’ game for the Bruins after Sunday’s loss in Detroit, the Bruins instead continued their stumble and dropped a 6-3 final to the West-worst Blackhawks in what was a downright non-competitive tilt for large stretches.

The loss was the B’s third in their last four games dating back to last Thursday against the Oilers, and the defeat also marked the first time that the Bruins have suffered back-to-back regulation losses this season.

• In what was a strong start for the Bruins, with six of the game’s first seven shots credited to the B’s, the Bruins somehow found themselves in an 0-1 hole to begin the night on a MacKenzie Entwistle goal created purely out of some over-aggressive play at the other end by Connor Clifton.

  Chicago’s 1-0 edge held through 20 minutes of action, and though the Bruins would even things up with a Hampus Lindholm goal at the 14:58 mark of the middle frame, Chicago answered with a Joey Anderson marker and regained the lead just 1:32 later.

  But the Bruins did their part to negate the Anderson go-ahead marker, and found the equalizer with just 12 seconds remaining in the period behind some strong work from Tyler Bertuzzi, who won a one-on-one battle and sent a puck to the high-danger area for a goal scored by Trent Frederic.

• Great effort and execution from Tyler Bertuzzi on Frederic’s equalizer.
  
  He’s had plenty of crisp passes into Grade-A ice since joining Boston.
  
  Good to see him get rewarded.
  pic.twitter.com/r36iCACpzY

  — Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 15, 2023

• The Bruins even jumped out to their first lead of the evening behind some fantastic offensive-zone movement capped by a Pavel Zacha tally at the 3:02 mark of the third period.

  But the Boston lead would last for just 53 seconds before the Blackhawks’ Taylor Raddysh knotted the sides back up, and the ‘Hawks took the lead just 3:04 later behind a Boris Katchouk goal.

  The Bruins appeared to tie things up on a Bertuzzi power-play bullet through Chicago netminder Alex Stalock, and while the goal was initially ruled a goal on the ice, a quick video review revealed that Bertuzzi instead ‘double doinked’ it off the pipes and failed to shoot his shot over the goal line.

  The Blackhawks then built on their lead with a fifth goal, and added an empty-net marker for insurance.

  But not before the Bruins whiffed on yet another chance, this time by way of a David Pastrnak penalty shot.

• 

  Mar 14, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) fails to score on a penalty shot after losing control of the puck in front of Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock (32). (Jamie Sabau/USA TODAY Sports)

• Say it with me now… yikes.

  This was without a doubt the Bruins’ worst performance of the season. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Bruins failed to show up against a downright dreadful opponent, and they couldn’t even be saved by Linus Ullmark, who looked oddly human in what was a 23-of-28 performance from Boston’s ace.

  Now, the good news? It took until Games 65 and 66 for the Bruins to lay back-to-back eggs.

  It’s also entirely possible that the Bruins, who officially clinched a playoff spot last weekend and have a gigantic lead in their division, are simply having a hard time getting up for these games against bad opponents.

  There shouldn’t be any ‘get up’ issues for their next game, which comes Thursday night against a Winnipeg squad that’s fighting with everything they got in an attempt to hang on to their playoff spot.

Get The 98.5 The Sports Hub Newsletter Delivered To Your Inbox

Stay up to date with the latest Boston sports news and analysis, local events, exclusive contests, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.