Bruins Lament Missed Opportunities in Loss to Buffalo

BOSTON - For the second straight game, the Bruins battled from behind to tie things in the third period. But for the second straight game, near misses and what ifs left the Bruins lamenting a frustrating loss.
Boston landed 37 shots on goal, had a penalty shot denied, and - also for the second straight game - saw a goal wiped off the board by an early whistle. In the end, it all added up to a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night at TD Garden.
"At the end of the day, their best players outplayed ours, from the goalies to the top line," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "Another tough one that we probably deserved points in, but we're not getting it."

The Bruins tied the game, 2-2, with 6:39 remaining when Torey Krug trickled down from the point and slapped David Krejci's feed by Linus Ullmark (35 saves) for his third of the season. But just over three minutes later, Buffalo reclaimed the lead for good on Jeff Skinner's second of the night.
"Those are big moments in games, right after a goal, first and last minute of each period, those are big moments…you can't give up goals and you have to try and keep that momentum and continue to go," said Krug. "It's just unfortunate that we weren't able to keep that momentum and go because I thought we were actually playing pretty well."
Perhaps the game's biggest momentum swing came just moments after the Bruins knotted things at 1 on Steven Kampfer's first tally of the year. Following a scramble in front of Buffalo's net, Brad Marchand appeared to put Boston ahead when he jammed a loose puck over the goal line.
But an early whistle by referee T.J. Luxmore led to a no-goal call on the ice. The officials went to the headset, though it was eventually ruled that the play was not reviewable.
It was the second straight game that the Bruins had a goal negated because of an early whistle by the referee. On Friday night in Pittsburgh, with the puck lying on the chest of Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith, the whistle was blown just before Sean Kuraly knocked it home.
"I think it was a poor call. The puck's visible. We scored the goal. There's no goalie interference," said Cassidy. "At least the other night in Pittsburgh it's on the goalie, you could see where they could lose it. My beef is - you know I'm not a big fan of review - but the reason it's brought in in the first place in any sport is to get the call right.
"I thought there was a clear example of it's a good goal. The puck was never frozen, no goalie interference. You'd hope the get that one right, so for me it's a head scratcher how that one gets off the board especially when the National Hockey League has been preaching how to get goals.
"In September, the video comes out that unless it's something really, really egregious we want to keep the goals. I was very surprised when that one came off the board."

Buffalo eventually grabbed the game's next goal, taking a 2-1 lead on Jack Eichel's marker at 5:43 of the third.
"You're not going to be perfect," Cassidy said of his team's defensive game. "A little bit looser, but all-in-all, no, I don't think if you asked Tuukka tonight he'd sit there and say it was a free-for-all in front of him. I thought we played a decent defensive game."
The Bruins also had a golden opportunity late in the first when Ryan Donato was granted the team's first penalty shot of the season. Donato was hauled down on a breakaway with 3:29 to play in the opening frame, but couldn't convert on the penalty shot as he stumbled while approaching the net.
"I think what happened was I was trying to do something similar to the [move on the breakaway," said Donato. "He didn't bend on the first move, so I thought that if I kept it going that way I would have it. Maybe I did a little too much, but if I got it up I would've scored. At the end of the day I was falling down, so I couldn't get it up."

Third Line Clicking

Overall, it was another strong effort for Boston's youthful third line of Donato, Danton Heinen, and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson. Donato and Heinen each landed six shots on goal, while JFK contributed with a nifty secondary assist on Krug's tying goal.
And in what was a fitting result, given the theme of near-misses, Heinen was denied by a brilliant pad save from Ullmark on a 2-on-1 with Forsbacka Karlsson just over three minutes into the third with the game tied, 1-1.
"I think lately we've been feeding off each other a little better and I think sticking to what we do good," said Heinen. "Everybody brings a different thing to that line, and I think we can't change our games at all. We've got to stick to what got us here and what's kind of successful and what gives us opportunities.
"You saw JFK make some high-end plays tonight. It's just a matter of me putting them in. I think the goalie made a good save on one there on Donato….as long as we're creating."

Bergeron Getting Close

Before the game, Cassidy provided some updates on Boston's injuries, most notably that Patrice Bergeron may join the team for practice on Wednesday. Bergeron, who has missed the last 14 games with a rib/sternoclavicular injury, could return to game action shortly thereafter.
"We're hoping he'll skate with the team by Wednesday," said Cassidy. "Whether that means he plays Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, I don't know. But at least he's one step closer."
Bergeron skated on Sunday with Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, and Urho Vaakanainen. Cassidy said that Jake DeBrusk, sidelined for the last five games with a concussion, has not yet resumed skating, but is "feeling better."
Cassidy added that he's not sure that Chara - out the last 15 games with a left MCL injury - is as close to re-joining the full group as Bergeron.

Decisions Await

When Bergeron returns, Cassidy will have to decide what the makeup of his top two lines will look like. With the exception of Sunday night's loss to Buffalo, the trio of Marchand, David Krejci, and David Pastrnak has clicked seamlessly over the last couple of weeks. But placing Bergeron back with his familiar wingers would reunite what many believe is the best line in hockey.
"I would suspect he would," Cassidy said when asked if Bergeron would return to his spot as the No. 1 center. "That would be our plan."
That said, Cassidy has not completely ruled out the possibility of splitting things up.
"That line's going pretty well, so at least it would be food for thought anyway," added Cassidy. "Put Bergy and Marchand [together] and Krech and Pasta and try it then. I've said I wanted to do it when we get our full lineup, but we're getting closer to that."