Bruins Postgame Takeaways: Lack of Offense Has B’s Singing the Blues

BOSTON – Trent Frederic attempted to strike up the band, but his team came up a few notes short.  

The Bruins forward netted a pair of first period goals, but it wasn’t enough as Boston was bumped off by the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 in overtime, Saturday at TD Garden. Brayden Schenn scored the game-winner at 2:53 of the extra session. 

It was another tough loss for the Bruins (8-8-3), who have battled inconsistency for much of the season. 

“We didn’t have a lot of juice in the tank,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “I don’t why we didn’t. We flew home, we stayed over in Dallas so we would have proper sleep to enable us to have leg for today. We had legs in the first and kind of fell off after that.” 

“I thought it could have gone either way,” Frederic. “I think we did a good job fighting for the point and we got the lead, but it didn’t seem like we got much jump as we typically would.”

Fresh off an embarrassing 7-2 road loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the Bruins appeared determined back at home against a struggling Blues (8-9-1) team. But St. Louis stayed within reach every step of the way. The Blues grabbed an early lead and managed to tie the contest halfway through the third period, forcing the extra session, before winning it in OT.

“Were trying to be positive,” said Frederic. “There’s obviously some pressure the team not having the year that was predicted, or how we started in the past. We can turn it around any second. It’s not going to take much. We’re not that far away.”  

Read: Bruins Postgame Takeaways: No Defense In Dallas

Radek Fasha tipped a Scott Pernovich shot past Joonas Korpisalo at 6:25 of the first period, giving the visitors the 1-0 lead.  

Boston managed to battle back thanks to a little magic from Georgii Merkulov. The Providence Bruins call-up redirected a Charlie McAvoy pass at Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington. Trent Frederic scored off the rebound tying the game at 1-1 at 9:34.   

It was Frederic’s third goal of the season, and first since the season opener, ending a 17-game goalless drought.   

Read: Bruins Defensemen Determined To Step Up Following Injuries

But Frederic was just getting started. The Bruins winger crashed the net a second time than three minutes later. He tipped a Mason Lohrei drive past Binnington giving Boston the 2-1 lead at 12:12. Lost in the shuffle of the celebration was a nifty drop pass from Charlie Coyle to Lohrei. The center wasn’t initially credited with the other assist.  

“I was fortunate tonight,” said Frederic. “Merk made a good play. I was the guy that happened to be there. The other was a good shot, and I was just fortunate to get a stick on it.”   

Unfortunately, Boston couldn’t maintain its momentum, outshot 19-10 heading into the third period, and 31-17 by game’s end.

According to Montgomery, the team needs to eliminate any self doubts.

“That’s a concern all the time when you’re a .500 team,” said Montgomery. “It doesn’t matter what sport, but our consistency, puck pressure and puck management has been something that’s been not very apparent consistently for us.” 

Kastelic sidelined in second period  

The Bruins roster suffered another sizable blow, losing center Mark Kastelic to injury in the second period. He did not return. 

A bruising 6-foot-6, 226-pound forward, Kastelic has been one of Boston’s biggest surprises this season, netting three goals, four assists, and 24 penalty minutes in 19 games this season. His work with Johnny Beecher and Cole Koepke has given the team a much-needed boost all season.  

Korpisalo deserved better fate

Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo deserved a better fate.   

The Boston netminder shook off the early St. Louis goal, making a pair of flashy pad saves setting the tone. This included a 10-beller stoning Brayden Schenn on a rebound.  

The 6-foot-3, 189-pound goalie turned away 28 St. Louis shots.  Nathan Walker finally solved the netminder with a third period wrist shot at 12:42, knotting the game up at 2-2. Boston was outshot 24-14 at the time of the game-tying tally.  

The goalie previously won his last two games, earning his first shutout in a 3-0 win in Philadelphia, Nov. 2, followed by a 4-3 OT win against Calgary, Nov. 7. He has backed up Jeremy Swayman 12 times this season.  

Merkulov, Tufte recalled

The Bruins recalled forwards Georgii Merkulov and Riley Tufte prior to the game, while assigning forward Patrick Brown to Providence.  

The team also placed defenseman Hampus Lindholm on injured reserve. 

Merkulov, 24, appeared in 12 games with the Providence Bruins this season, recording two goals and nine assists for 11 points. The 5-foot-11, 184-pound forward has appeared in 154 career AHL games, all with Providence, totaling 57 goals and 136 points. The Ryazan, Russia native was signed by Boston as a free agent in 2022. 

Tufte, 26, appeared in two games with Boston this season. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward also played in six games with the Providence Bruins, recording three goals and for four points. Tufte has skated in 279 career AHL games with Providence, Colorado and Texas, totaling 61 goals and 67 assists for 128 points. The Coon Rapids, Minnesota native was selected by Dallas in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. 

Bruins Lines  

Morgan Geekie – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak 

Brad Marchand – Elias Lindholm – Justin Brazeau 

Georgii Merkulov – Charlie Coyle – Trent Frederic 

Riley Tufte – Mark Kastelic – Cole Kopeke 

Jordan Oesterle – Charlie McAvoy 

Mason Lohrei- Brandon Carlo  

Nikita Zadorov  – Parker Wotherspoon    

What’s Next? 

The Bruins play host to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday at 7 p.m. They will cap their three-game homestand taking on the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.  

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