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The Bruins continued their inconsitent play and trend of lose one win one in Phoenix. The Bruins mounted just one goal on 23 shots while the Coyotes scored four times on 36 shots, including two power-play goals. Shane Doan recorded three assists and Bryzgalov was strong between the pipes for the Yotes.
The Bruins went down early in the first period when Ed
Jovanovski scored a power-play goal just 15 seconds into Marc Savard’s lazy slashing
penalty, less than five minutes into the game.
The Bruins came out playing a faster style of play against their Western
conference opponent. The Bruins utilized
short breakout passes but fell behind after Savard took an early penalty.
Thomas was able to hold the Yotes at bay on odd-man rushes,
making several saves without yielding rebounds.
The Bruins were able to remain in a one-goal hole despite being outshot
14-7 due to a bevy of blocked shots. The
Coyotes also had six scoring chances in the first period as a result of some
bad decisions in the defensive zone by the Bruins.
The Coyotes added a second goal less than seven minutes into
the second frame when Adrian Aucoin snuck one past Thomas off a tipped
shot. The puck squirted through Thomas’
pads. At this point, Thomas had faced 21
shots in just 27 minutes. Conversely,
the Bruins mounted only 10 shots. Thomas
made a big stick save a few minutes later to keep the game 2-0.
Bryzgalov, who had not been tested much in the first half of
the game stoned Sturm on a breakaway snapshot during a 4-on-4 halfway through
the frame. However, just after Sturm’s
failed breakaway attempt, Mark Stuart teed off a one-timer from the left point
that found its way past Bryzgalov to cut the lead to 2-1.
Yandle late on Phoenix’s third power-play on a scramble in
front of the net, the goal was the Coyotes second power-play goal of the night,
and the Bruins special teams continued to struggle. The Yotes scored just 44 seconds later when
Scottie Upshall ripped a missile from the left circle over Thomas’ glove hand,
ringing the post on its way in. The
Bruins trailed 4-1 going into the final frame, seemingly wilting after falling
behind, losing one-on-one battles, and missing defensive assignments. Inconsistencies continue to plague Tim Thomas’
stats; the goaltender stopped just 21/25 through 2 periods. The Bruins offense didn’t help much, mounting
17 listless shots in the first 40.
The Bruins failed to mount a comeback in the third period as
the Coyotes played aggressive enough to keep a large lead and the Bruins played
bad enough to not mount a threat.
Up to this point in the season, the Bruins, for the main
part, have appeared to be going through the motions. The special teams are clearly a point of
concern as the losses of Ward, Axelsson, and Yelle are becoming evident on the
penalty kill.
The Bruins will have three days in between games to fix
whatever it is that ails them. The Bruins will face Nashville at home
on Wednesday night before going to Philadelphia to face the Flyers the
following night.
Areas of concern
The Bruins let in two power-play goals against the Coyotes, an
area that has been a constant problem
this season. In their four losses
this season, the Bruins have let in 8 goals on the penalty kill.
Odd-man rushes. The
Bruins defense has been easy to skate past on odd-man rushes. Perhaps the pairings haven’t clicked yet but
certainly Thomas does not appreciate the bevy of odd-man chances coming at him.
Scoring chances. The
Bruins have not gotten the better of scoring chances much this year. They have been unable to sustain possession
and capitalize on 5-on-5 scenarios.
