Bruins eager to change narrative in opener of homestand vs. Flames
The Boston Bruins did not mince words about falling short of a winning road trip following their 7-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
After gaining five of the 10 available points (2-2-1 record), Boston will head back across the country to start a five-game homestand when the Calgary Flames visit for a Thursday night matchup.
"There's no excuse to be tired. We had plenty of days and rest," forward David Pastrnak said, referring to the fact that the Bruins had two days of rest before each of their last two games while Seattle was on a back-to-back.
"We should've been the fresher team, at times we were, but we made a lot of mistakes. Waste of an opportunity to close out the trip."
The Bruins' recent trip included a Dec. 29 stop in Calgary, with the Flames earning a 2-1 overtime victory on Connor Zary's deciding goal. The Bruins' latest wins were against two other Pacific Division teams in the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks.
In Seattle, Pastrnak led Boston with his second multi-goal game of the trip and has scored six goals across his last seven outings.
The Bruins piled up 36 shots -- their highest total since Dec. 20 -- but chasing the game from the first period and the strength of Seattle's power play (3-for-4) were too much to overcome. The latter mark highlights a trend for Boston, which has gone shorthanded at least four times for the ninth time in 10 contests.
"We just totally got away (from our game)," Boston coach Marco Sturm said of the finish in Seattle. "We made the mistakes, and ... they played the right way and led us to the mistakes. Unfortunately, it cost us two big points. Hopefully, we learn from that one."
The Flames, meanwhile, will look to shake a three-game skid that has dropped them below .500, a mark they reached for the first time since the opening week of the season following a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on New Year's Eve.
Calgary will arrive in Boston after starting an Atlantic Division back-to-back and a five-game road trip with a 4-1 loss at the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
"When we get back to .500, I don't know if we all took a breath and got complacent," Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said earlier this week. "I'm not sure what it is, but in this league there's no time to take breaks."
Montreal's three goals in a span of 5:02 in the second period did the Flames in on Wednesday. It was their second blowout period in as many games after the Seattle Kraken broke a 1-1 tie with four goals in the third en route to a 5-1 Monday win at Calgary.
Joel Farabee scored his 10th goal of the season against Montreal, with defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz notching an assist for his first career NHL point. Weegar had a three-game point streak snapped.
The Flames were 0-for-4 on the power play, failing to convert with the man advantage for the third straight game.
"You always take something out of the games you play and then you use that and move on for your next one," Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. "We've got a quick turnaround ... but it's another opportunity to get back at it."
Wednesday featured the NHL debut of 22-year-old winger William Stromgren, a former second-round draft pick who drew two penalties in just 8:04 of ice time. He skated on a line with Ryan Lomberg and Morgan Frost.
Goaltender Jeremy Swayman has started Boston's last four games and nine of 11.
The Calgary net has belonged to Dustin Wolf in seven straight games. He stopped 31 shots in Wednesday's loss to Montreal.