Bruins Game Grades: Rare Night For Offense Wasted

The Boston Bruins finally got the goal-scoring they’ve desperately needed but did little to support it in a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.

After falling behind by two early in the second period, Boston managed to send the game into the final frame tied 2-2. The Bruins did everything they could to keep up with the Maple Leafs but were never quite able to catch them.

“We didn’t do a good enough job tonight,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco told reporters in Toronto. “We weren’t hard enough in certain areas of the game. Credit to Toronto. They played hard, especially below the tops of the circles. We knew going into the game it was going to be like that, and we just have to be harder to play against.”

The Bruins have now lost three straight games and four of their last five. They now trail the Maple Leafs by eight points in the Atlantic Division standings.

If that doesn’t change by the end of the season, you can look at this game as the reason why.

Bruins Grades:

Team: C

It’s difficult to accurately grade the Bruins after a game like this.

On the one hand, they did a really good job of hanging in against a team that has significantly more skill than they do by scoring more than a few timely goals. On the other, they allowed more than a few timely goals.

As much as I want to grade them lower, meeting in the middle is the most fair that I can be.

Defense: D

David Pastrnak put it best by emphasizing that the Bruins gave up too many easy goals.

From Brandon Carlo being used as a practice pylon by Matthew Knies or Charlie McAvoy getting smoked by Auston Matthews in a battle for the puck behind the net, the Bruins’ defense got embarrassed time and time again as the Maple Leafs had free access to dangerous areas of the ice.

It’s unfortunate that on a rare night where they actually put the puck in the back of the net, the Bruins couldn’t do anything to prevent it from entering theirs.

Jeremy Swayman: C –

Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 of the 27 shots that came his way and didn’t get a lot of help in front of him, but some of the blame has to fall on his shoulders. When the offense is doing everything it can to keep the team in the game, the goalie has to as well.

Elias Lindholm: D –

Boston’s first line struggled mightily against their Toronto counterparts, but Elias Lindholm had a particularly rough night.

His failure to make a play on the puck along the wall in the defensive is what ultimately led to Jake McCabe putting the Maple Leafs on the board at 3:29 of the first period.

Jake McCabe opens the scoring in Toronto! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Gi4EhFsjqM

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 5, 2025

Lindholm ended the night a minus-three, landing one shot on goal in three attempts across 17:10 of time on ice. He also negated a power play for the Bruins just 20 seconds after it started by taking a high-sticking penalty in the middle of the second period.

He did, however, win all nine of his faceoffs, so at least there’s that.

Third Line: C +

There has been little chemistry between Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, and Oliver Wahlstrom, but this was perhaps the best they’ve looked together so far.

Frederic scored his first goal in 12 games as the trio had a  6-2 advantage in scoring chances. They were able to work their way into the attacking zone by playing the dump-and-chase game on the forecheck.

They had trouble winning some of their puck battles down low, which is concerning given the size of all three players, but let’s not spit in the face of progress here.

Power Play: F

The Bruins failed to score on both of their power play opportunities and never gave themselves the chance.

During their first, they couldn’t establish any sort of sustainable time in the attacking zone and didn’t register a single shot on goal. They didn’t on the second one either, but that’s because it was negated in the first 20 seconds after Elias Lindholm was called for a high-sticking penalty.

There isn’t much more that can be said about the Bruins’ power play at this point. It’s bad, brutally bad.

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