Bruins Fall to Senators, Losing Streak Hits Three Games

BOSTON - For the first time this season, the Bruins are mired in a losing streak.
Following a 3-2 setback to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night, the Black & Gold have now dropped three consecutive games - all in regulation - their longest such skid in over two years.
"Frustration is a useless emotion, so I'm not frustrated," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "I want to correct things. We had some miscommunications on the bench tonight, we had some lack of focus, especially on the power play - going back to our own end there late, almost took ourselves out of the game…lack of finish with some guys, obviously, is hurting us right now - not shooting at appropriate time.
"Certainly, some guys we rely on, on a regular basis every night, aren't putting up the numbers right now for whatever reason. We'll look a little closer at that. I don't think it'll go on forever, they're too good. Some other lines need to get back to their game."

Boston appeared to be well on its way to snapping its skid with a two-goal first period that included tallies from a couple of rookies with just 12 combined games to their names. Marc McLaughlin deflected home a Nick Foligno feed at 6:36 of the first to put the Bruins up, 1-0, before Jesper Froden struck for his first career goal when he tipped a Matt Grzelcyk point shot by Ottawa goalie Anton Forsberg with 59 seconds left in the first to double the Boston lead.
"Obviously, Frod's has been doing a great job. He's a really smart player. Marc as well. They both work really hard," said Grzelcyk, who returned to the lineup after missing one game with an upper-body injury. "Not the biggest guys but they're both fast, they're both smart hockey players. That's something I've noticed. It's really impressive that they both are able to step right into the lineup, sort of at the end of the year, and they fit in, obviously. I'm very happy for them."

The Bruins' lead, however, quickly dwindled in the second period. With Linus Ullmark leaving the game with an undisclosed injury following the first, Ottawa got on the board just 47 seconds into the middle frame when Brady Tkachuk scored off a redirection from behind the net that deflected by B's netminder Jeremy Swayman.
Later in the period, the Senators struck twice on the man advantage, just 57 seconds apart, with the first tally from Josh Norris coming during a 5-on-3. Tim Stutzle followed with the second power-play marker at 10:27 of the second to put Ottawa ahead, 3-2.
"Well, the second period we got ourselves into penalty trouble," said Cassidy, whose club took four penalties during the frame. "To me, that starts with the goalie going out. We've got a goalie going out there that probably did some work this morning, didn't expect to see the ice. For him, he's put in a tough spot. And then all of sudden, they get a lucky one from behind the net. They get some life and now they're on the power play for eight minutes."

More news and notes from the B's 3-2 loss to the Senators at TD Garden:

Ullmark Leaves Early:After an eight-for-eight first period that included a stellar sprawling glove stop on Ottawa's Artem Zub, Ullmark did not return from the second period. The netminder took a shot to the helmet early on during the opening frame and briefly retreated to the bench to consult with the Bruins' medical staff before returning to the net.
Cassidy said he does not believe Ullmark was removed by the concussion spotter, but instead went to trainers himself to let them know he wasn't feeling right.
"He didn't feel well after the first, so he left the game, obviously. I haven't heard since then; I have to go back in there and find out," said Cassidy. "He went to the refs after it happened - it happened early - and I think there was no whistle. I think the refs looked at him and he decided he wanted to continue to play. I don't believe the spotter took him out after the first period, I was just told he's out.
"I never checked again. Once he's out, he's out and he'd be done for the night. So, it's on to the next situation. I don't believe it was a spotter, I think it was Linus himself, but can't 100 percent confirm that."
Swayman relieved Ullmark and, following a stretch of allowing three goals on 15 shots in the second, was immense over the final 20 minutes as he kept the Bruins in the game with a number of key stops - including two breakaway denials of Connor Brown.
"We kind of put him in a bad spot early there with all the penalties in the second period," said Cassidy. "Certainly found his game as the game went on, gave us a chance to win. We'll have to see how Linus is [Friday] and see if it's a long-term thing."

Carlo Feeling Better: In other injury news, Brandon Carlo - who left Tuesday's game against St. Louis with an undisclosed ailment, did not skate on Thursday but "felt better," according to Cassidy.
"What does that mean?" said Cassidy. "Doesn't mean he's available Saturday, that much I won't know until we get to the rink [Friday] morning and see if he practices."
No Special Deliveries:In addition to allowing two goals on the penalty kill - which went 4-for-6 overall - the Bruins' power play, once again, struggled mightily against the Senators. Boston went 0 for 5 on the man advantage and is now mired in an 0-for-23 slump that spans the last six games.
"Getting the chance to watch the top [on Tuesday], we are better when we are moving the puck quickly, and execute it a little bit more," said Grzelcyk, who replaced Charlie McAvoy as the point man on the No. 1 unit midway through Thursday's game. "I think maybe guys are just thinking a little too much. It's something we've addressed in video quite a lot these last few days, last few weeks.
"Sometimes we are trying to find a seem that is not there and forcing plays a little bit. Maybe if we had a little more 5-on-5 mentality, get pucks in to the net, and play off the rebound, then that's kind of when your skill takes over."
David Pastrnak missing five of those six games with injury has certainly played a factor in the power play's struggles, as the Bruins continue to try to adjust to their opponents keying in on other players.
"I think maybe that's a bit of the issue here," said Grzelcyk. "You're kind of looking for the perfect look, instead of just making the play that is in front of you, creating 2-on-1's all over the ice. Looking at it on video, but it's another thing to go there and execute. Obviously losing Pasta and his shot, teams know how good he is over there. A lot of times, they just take him away, and kind of play 4-on-3 from there. So, we lose a little bit of that. Obviously, hopefully, we get him back soon."
Froden Gets His First: In his first game since being recalled from Providence on Wednesday, Froden wasted no time getting on the scoresheet with his first career goal. The 27-year-old became the fourth Bruin to notch his first this season, joining fellow Sweden native Oskar Steen, Jack Ahcan, and McLaughlin.
"That's what you want. You want to play in the NHL," said Froden, who has played six games for Boston this season. "That's why I came over. Try to be a better player each day and work my way in Prov. I think I've done a good job the last couple weeks there. It's always fun to get the call up and try to help the team to win games. That's what it's all about."
Froden thought about changing before the goal after his glove slipped off but decided to remain on the ice when he saw Grzelcyk collect the puck at the point and tipped home the wrister from the slot.
"I guess I had better feeling to tip the puck there. It was fun to get the first one," said Froden, who landed three shots on goal in 16:49, playing mostly as the right wing alongside Taylor Hall and Erik Haula. "I try to stay in front of the net, battle for the puck and then I just lost my glove. I was thinking, 'Should I change or should I stay?' Then I saw that the D got the puck and I was trying to be in the lane and tip the puck there and see it went in. It's an amazing feeling."

Feeling Right At Home: McLaughlin has now played three games at TD Garden - and he's scored a goal in each of them. The Billerica, Mass., native made it 3-for-3 on Thursday night when Foligno's feed ricocheted off his stick in the midst of traffic out front. The opening tally was the highlight of a strong night for the fourth line of McLaughlin, Foligno, and Lazar.
"I thought McLaughlin's line was excellent, they played to their strength below the goal line," said Cassidy.
After playing his first five games as a right winger, McLaughlin shifted to his natural center position on Thursday night.
"I'll have to look at the structure part, but they were in [Ottawa's] end a lot," said Cassidy. "To me, he doesn't have to worry about his position when you have the puck in their end and you're playing down low. Marc's played well. We haven't built him in a lot into special teams because our special teams seemed, up to recently, solid…when he's out there 5-on-5, he's done a good job."