Bruins Postgame: Swayman Shines But Bruins Lose 5-4 In OT

The Boston Bruins got goals from Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak, John Beecher, and Charlie Coyle but lost a see-saw affair with an upstart Tampa Bay Lightning squad 5-4 in overtime.

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Pregame:

CLUTCH: If you didn’t watch the game and just saw that Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman allowed five goals, you’d be wondering why he is the BHN ‘Clutch’ player of the game. Well, that’s because he stopped 41 of 46 shots and really was the only reason the Bruins weren’t on the wrong side of a lopsided loss and not an overtime loss that gave them points in 16 of their first 17 games this season.

Jeremy Swayman made this look like a routine save. pic.twitter.com/B5fF7fqd8u

— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) November 21, 2023

BANGER: Two bangers tonight here. Up front, rookie center Johnny Beecher led the way with three hits and also chipped in offensively with his second goal in the NHL that gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead 7:47 into the third period.

JOHN! BEECHER!! pic.twitter.com/2e2bCgRbdn

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) November 21, 2023

On the back end, defenseman Charlie McAvoy continued to be a presence and got back to his hitting ways with three hits as well.

DOGHOUSE: The Bruins’ team defense and discipline defending the puck as a whole all night was atrocious, as the Bruins allowed a season-high 46 shots. The Bruins struggled to clear the zone too many teams, and it cost them at the most crucial times. The Bruins allowed goals in the final 30 seconds of both the second and third periods.

With the Tampa Bay Lightning on a powerplay after Pastrnak lost his cool and went to the sin bin for roughing at 18:29 of the middle frame, Lightning forward Nick Paul gave the Lightning a 2-1 lead with 30 ticks left.

Dave Mishkin calls Nick Paul's power play goal pic.twitter.com/InG7m5fQyf

— Bucs Rays Bolts (@BucsRaysBoltsYT) November 21, 2023

The Bruins then just went into prevent defense and got even sloppier after Charlie Coyle gave them a 4-3 lead 16:09 into the third period. They wound up being out-shot 14-4 in the period, with the majority of those coming in the final four minutes of regulation. They continually failed to clear the zone, and it finally burnt them when Lightning captain Steven Stamkos tied the game with 4.8 ticks left.

STEVEN STAMKOS TIES IT UP WITH 4 SECONDS LEFT! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/VuYiLiiNCv

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 21, 2023

It was pretty much the same in overtime, but not only could the Bruins clear the zone in the extra frame, they blew it without the puck and that led to the overtime winner by Lightning forward Brandon Hagel 1:19 in.

HAGEL WINS IT! 🙌

After the @TBLightning tied the game with five seconds remaining, Brandon Hagel (@Bhags9) completes the comeback with the @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/obkbrX8QIF

— NHL (@NHL) November 21, 2023

UNSUNG HERO: The Bruins’ penalty kill, fueled by their goaltending, continues to be their biggest strength. The Bruins allowed a whopping six powerplays but only allowed the aforementioned Paul goal. The Bruins still led the NHL on the penalty kill after the game, killing powerplays at a 91-percent clip.

KEY STAT: While the penalty kill was still pretty much dominant, having to kill six powerplays tires a team out, and that was clear that the Bruins were gassed in the waning moments of regulation.

LINEUP:

Forwards

Brad Marchand-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk-Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic

Jake DeBrusk-Matt Poitras-Danton Heinen

Jakub Lauko-John Beecher-Oskar Steen

Defensemen

Mason Lohrei-Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort-Ian Mitchell

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark