You can almost imagine hearing at the end of the Bruins-Wild game, the music playing in the background: The Four Tops performing their 1965 Motown hit, “It’s The Same Old Song.” Tuesday night’s 4-3 overtime loss by the Bruins to the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden, it was ‘the same old song’ as the locals went down with their fourth consecutive overtime game loss, and the third time they have been on the losing end of those four games (1-0-3). Once again it was Boston’s inability to finish off their foes in the third period, as they again had trouble in the third, with ineffective play, and gave up the lead, that earned them their sixth overtime loss this season. In a contest that featured physical play, dynamic goaltending by both netminders, with 40 saves by the 39-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury, and 26 saves from the Bruins’ Linus Ullmark. Boston’s offensive attack featured a pair of impressive goals (18/19) from David Pastrnak, both in the first period, and Brad Marchand’s tying goal (13) with 1:06 left in regulation to tie the game and force the overtime.
Kirill Kaprizov was the constant thorn in Boston’s side, scoring twice, his first in the third period knotted the score at 2-2, and was followed less than two minutes later by Ryan Hartman’s goal which gave the Wild a 3-2 lead, before Marchand’s goal on the power play, and the extra skater gave the Bruins the single point on the night. The game also featured a heavyweight battle between Boston’s Jakub Lauko and Minnesota’s Connor Dewar, being Lauko’s first fight since returning from his facial fracture back in October. The win for Lauko sparked the team, while also providing high energy to the fourth line (Lauko, John Beecher and Oskar Steen). Pavel Zacha’s return to the lineup Tuesday was highlighted by his two assists, the first on Pastrnak’s second goal, and the second on Marchand’s tying goal. It also marked the return of Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Putting the Minnesota loss in the rearview mirror, the Bs next action will be a three-game road trip that includes back-to-back games, with the first game taking place tomorrow (Friday), to face the Winnipeg Jets on Canada Life Centre ice, followed by a chance to seek rapid revenge for their Tuesday night loss to the Minnesota Wild, with a game on Saturday night. The final stop on this road will be a visit to Buffalo on Wednesday, to be hosted by division rival Sabres who hold the next to last spot in the Atlantic Division. Boston (19-5-6-44 points) is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, a single point behind the New York Rangers (22-7-1-45 points).