All signs would have pointed to a bounce back from Boston following an embarrassing loss to the Leafs and facing a rival team in Montreal the next night.
That's not what happened, at all.
The first period was good, the second was bad and the third was terrible from a Bruins perspective.
Final score, 5-1 for the Montreal Canadiens.
"I think as a team right now we have to not be so fragile and get so down," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic. "We have to show some resiliency, character and when we fall behind continue to play the way we play."
The injury situation with David Krejci and Zdeno Chara is well documented. It's not easy to throw out the likes of Torey Krug, Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow on defense but right now Boston has no choice.
"If you start the game the way we did and can't sustain for two periods it's not because the game plan isn't working, its because you're not able to sustain your focus," said coach Claude Julien.
There was flashes of life for the Bruins even when they were down and out. Matt Faser dropping the gloves with Nathan Beaulieu (that didn't go well), Adam Mcquaid throwing Dale Weise into the crossbar and then the boards and Lucic catching Jiri Sekac in the neutral zone without the puck subsequently goading PK Subban into a fight.
But it wasn't the emotion that we've become accustom to seeing from the Bruins, specifically in games against the Canadiens.
"We're a team that thrives on playing with emotion and maybe we needed to play with more emotion and more bang," said Lucic. "It wasn't there tonight, so the next time we play them hopefully we play with the emotion that gives us success."
Boston will probably be fine and most good teams stumble during the long and vigorous NHL schedule. But all this game did was reinforce a long standing narrative. The Bruins can't figure out how to play against the Montreal Canadiens.
- Mitchy
