At TD Garden, there were many Boston Bruins fans that saw hope from their team to win their final match before the 4 Nations Face-off break. However, while things were going well with the home side, a comeback on the rink happened for the Vegas Golden Knights. And the results? The Bruins lost their home game in a heartbreaking 3-4 fashion.
This was a huge hit not only to the players but also to the fans who came to watch the home team win. However, right after the game ended, the Bruins coach shared a few questions and was brutally honest with his thoughts.
During the post-game interview, as seen on the Boston Bruins’ YouTube channel, someone asks Joe Sacco about the way the match slipped out of their hands after the second period. So what actually happened? Things were going really well for the home team, as they completely dominated the first period, with captain Brad Marchand and Nikita Zadorov scoring the first two goals of the game.
Mark Stone of the Golden Knights scored the first goal with 4:51 remaining, but the Bruins were eager for more action. The second period also saw the first goal with 4:53 remaining, and it was Bruins’ Morgan Geekie to get his hands on it. However, during the final minute, Zach Whitecloud came in clutch for the Golden Knights, and it was the turning point of the game.
Sharing his thoughts, Sacco was candid on this particular moment of the game, stating, “Well, I mean, you know, you never want to give up a goal with under a minute to go. I mean. So I don’t know if deflating is the right word; it wasn’t a really good second period, I didn’t think, overall. Anyway, I think that, uh, they probably could have had one or two before that, so, um, we thought we had a pretty good first period. We came out, you know, we got a couple of good saves early on off the rush, then we found our game about three-quarters of the first period and started to play better.”
A late goal in any period, especially the second one, is a bit frustrating, and that is where the Golden Knights’ comeback happened against the Bruins. Indeed, Vegas went on to score two more in the third period, resulting in winning the match at TD Garden. The Bruins had opportunities, but their coach agreed about the wrong execution, stating, “I thought we played well. The second period, they played better, and then, you know, you get yourselves into a little bit of penalty trouble there and, uh, weren’t able to do the job, weren’t able to do the job on the kill.”
But what were the penalties Sacco was talking about? In the final five minutes, things got heated on the rink, as the Bruins were trying to score. In this process, Pavel Zacha was given a two-minute suspension for slashing Pavel Dorofeyev, followed by David Pastrnak, who also got a two-minute suspension for hooking Brett Howden.
For the Bruins, this was their final match before the 4 Nations Face-off break, and what they wanted didn’t happen. Indeed, every team wants to secure a victory before going into this nearly two weeks of no NHL action, but it didn’t go the way that they planned. However, after the break there will be plenty more matches for the team, but will they be able to secure the playoff spot?
The future of Boston Bruins in the dark
Currently, after their game against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Boston Bruins are in 6th place in the Atlantic Division. They have played 57 games, out of which they have won 27, lost 24, and had 6 overtime losses. After their last game before the 4 Nations Face-off, they are on a two-game losing streak, and there are plenty of questions surrounding the future of the team.
The Bruins were a strong one, as for a long time since the 2015-16 season, they qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs and most of the time have been the top contenders. However, their fate seems twisted in the current campaign, as the team already seems to be out of playoff contention. But can their fate change?
There’s a slight possibility, as it also depends on how the other teams perform in the Atlantic Division. As currently they are in 6th place, they need to make it a few more steps above in the standings. After the break, they will have 20 regular season games to prove themselves, and it will be close for the Bruins, as they might need to win most of the games out of those remaining matches.
The post Boston Bruins Coach Gives Brutally Honest After Heartbreaking Loss: “Weren’t Able to Do the Job” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
