Other then their 6-3 win against the New York Islanders just before Thanksgiving, the Bruins have played nothing but close games while being under interim head coach Joe Sacco.
Sadly for the Boston Bruins this continued when they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday Night at TD Garden.
Since firing Jim Montgomery as head coach the Boston Bruins have played three games in which was decided by one goal. But this time the Boston Bruins would be on the losing side for the first time against the Penguins.
Philip Tomassino who is playing in just his second game after being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins just a couple days ago would score the game just 7:26 into the final frame that would give the Penguins the 2-1 win.
These games can be compared to playoff games, it's not often that you see blow out wins during the playoffs, so Bruins need to get comfortable playing in these types of situations, even if you would rather see them blow out their opponents. Losing this game 2-1 is giving the Bruins an opportunity to learn something.
Some bad habits by the Bruins played a big factor in their loss, they allowed Rickard Rakell to tie the game during a broken ish play with just 0.8 seconds remaining in the second period. You have to find a way to end the period with the lead in this case.
Not only that, but the Bruins offence once again dried up after a good start to the game. Charlie Coyle broke the ice just 1:24 into the first period, but after that the Bruins could not find a way to put one in the back of the net the rest of the game.
Another thing is the Bruins got a power play with less than 10 minutes left in the third period, and could not find a way to score like many other games this season, and since their home opener the Bruins have not scored a third period goal at home.
One bonus is that the Bruins defence under Joe Sacco has been really good, and Jeremy Swayman had a solid game which is also promising, but the Bruins need to figure out how to score more goals.