The Bruins’ execution at each ends of the rink was not good and their luck was even worse on Monday evening on the Garden. And the outcome was inevitable.
The St. Louis Blues jumped out to a 4-0 lead via two durations and, regardless of some late huffing and puffing by the B’s, they cruised to a 5-1 win.
It not solely snapped the B’s very modest two-game win streak nevertheless it additionally ended 4 consecutive video games wherein they allowed only one regulation objective.
The sport had a really Monday really feel to it to start out with lower than glowing playmaking from each groups. And the Blues took the lead on a cool bounce at 10:13. From the left level, outdated buddy Torey Krug despatched the puck down alongside the boards however, as a substitute of rimming round behind the web, it by some means bounced straight into the slot to Kaspari Kapanen. With Jeremy Swayman – and everybody else – anticipating a special trajectory of the puck, the netminder couldn’t sq. as much as the shooter and Kapanen made it 1–0.
The B’s pushed after that, forcing St. Louis netminder Joel Hofer to make a few high quality saves earlier than the B’s bought themselves in penalty bother.
They killed the primary one off with ease and gave the impression to be effectively on their solution to killing off the second, a Charlie Coyle hook, when Trent Frederic high-sticked Brayden Schenn.
That gave the Blues a 58-second 5-on-3, however they would wish solely 9 of them earlier than Robert Thomas hummed a slapper previous Swayman’s blocker for the two–0 lead at 17:59.
The second interval began very similar to the primary. The B’s had a few one-and-done possibilities and, when the Blues countered with a possibility of their very own, they made it rely. Mason Lohrei went down from his left level place however couldn’t attain the puck after which David Pastrnak couldn’t cease Matthew Kessel’s move up alongside the boards within the impartial zone. That allowed Kapanen to slide in on a a 3-on-1. He took it deep and fed Kevin Hayes within the center to make it 3-0 at 4:31.
But at 11:11, the B’s thought that they had some hard-earned luck of their very own when the fourth lline – the B’s greatest line – appeared to get the B’s on the board. Justin Brazeau got here out from behind the web and his backhander ramped up off Hofer’s stick, went over the goalie’s head and dropped down behind him. But after a problem from St. Louis coach Drew Bannister and a prolonged evaluation, it was dominated that Brazeau was offside some 17 seconds – and quite a lot of work – previous to the objective. There was an argument that Krug had introduced the puck again into the zone himself, however that isn’t how the officers noticed it.
If you had the sense that it wasn’t going to the be the Bruins’ evening with that flip of occasions, that notion was hammered residence at 15:25 when Hayes reduce via slot and was capable of feed the puck again throughout his physique for Brandon Saad, who was parked on the proper submit for the 4-0 objective.
The B’s had been booed off the ice to on the finish of the second, however they lastly did get on the board at 1:48 when Pastrnak’s long-distance slapper beat Hofer.
Though the B’s had been pressuring, they weren’t getting the standard photographs on web that they’d have appreciated and coach Jim Montgomery determined to tug Swayman with 8:45 left within the third however, simply 12 seconds later Alexey Toropchenko deflected Colton Parayko’s clear and into the empty web.
Source: www.bostonherald.com