Bruins Points Streak Ends With Loss to Anaheim

BOSTON - With just over seven minutes to play, Anaheim goalie John Gibson headed to the bench. The backstop had stoned the Bruins to that point, turning away several top-notch chances as Boston ramped up its game over the final 30 minutes.
But just moments earlier, Gibson had been felled by a Patrice Bergeron shot and, after trying to battle through, was unable to continue. Ryan Miller was inserted into the game, opening up an opportunity for the Bruins to pounce.

Miller, however, had other ideas. Seconds after being thrown into the action, Bergeron ripped a tricky one-timer at Miller's feet, which the netminder calmly gloved to keep Boston off the board.
It was just that kind of night for the Bruins.
They failed to solve Anaheim's goaltending until a Ryan Spooner goal with 40 seconds to play and fell to the Ducks, 3-1, at TD Garden on Tuesday night. The defeat snapped Boston's 18-game points streak and their five-game winning streak. It was the Bruins' first regulation loss since Dec. 14 against Washington.
"It was something special," Bergeron said of the streak, which tied for the second-longest in team history. "I think it's been a lot of fun and we've got to keep that going. It's one game and we've got to realize that one of the things we did in that streak was to stay focused and keep pushing each other to be our best every night, and go back to that."
Boston looked sluggish in the early going of the first game out of the All-Star break, allowing the first goal for the eighth straight contest and falling into a two-goal, first-period hole on markers from Jakob Silfverberg (on a fluky bounce off of Zdeno Chara) and Adam Henrique (on the power play).
"It was disappointing, the way we came out," said Bergeron. "And we got the result that shows it. You're not going to be able to get back into games every time. We did that the last eight games, but at some point it's going to happen and hopefully we realize that we need to be good from the drop of the puck."

Despite another rough first, the Bruins responded with what they believed was a better final 40 minutes than the Ducks. Boston created a number of offensive opportunities but was unable to cash in until Spooner - celebrating his 26th birthday - brought Boston within a goal with a wrister from the top of the right circle with 40 seconds to play and Anton Khudobin (24 saves) on the bench for an extra attacker.
"A lot of good chances, a lot of good looks," said Bergeron, who along with Jake DeBrusk provided the screen on Spooner's goal. "If you bury a few of those, it's probably a different game and we feel better, more confident. That being said, I think it was a tough start and a good way to come back."

Boston also struggled to match Anaheim's physicality, as they were frequently pushed off pucks and outmuscled in the corners en route to being outhit, 33-23.
"It's something that we talked about," said Torey Krug, who assisted on Spooner's tally. "There are going to be different styles of teams throughout the league and we have a group that leadership-wise we are aware of what everyone brings and we have to let the younger guys know going into a game what to expect and what to bring.
"That being said, we have to lead by example. So there are just different types of teams and you've got to be ready to go every night."
Unfortunately, that physicality left the Bruins shorthanded for much of the night. Following a nearly two-month stretch of full health, injuries are beginning to to pile up once again. Already without Brad Marchand - albeit for a suspension - Charlie McAvoy (heart procedure), and Noel Acciari (lower-body), Boston lost Anders Bjork and David Backes against the Ducks.
Bjork left the game early in the first period after a collision with Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin that appeared to result in the rookie taking a cross-check to the shoulder area.
"Bjork, definitely upper body, and he'll miss some time. I don't know how much," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
Backes was also forced to leave the game after taking a late hit up high from forward Nick Ritchie in the third. Cassidy did not have an update on his status after the game.
"It probably is shoulder-to-shoulder," said Bergeron. "That being said, I think it's late and blindside. That's my take on it."

Chara seemed to respond with a big hit in the neutral zone several minutes later, which ultimately led to a dust-up with Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf. Both were sent to the box for roughing where they continued a heated discussion.
"I think it was just probably his initiation of maybe the hit I made a few seconds prior to that play, step up in the neutral zone…maybe something he didn't like about that," said Chara. "Obviously I responded and that's kind of what happened…nobody wants to see your teammate being carried off the ice. Again, that's something that officials have to, or the league has to, take another look at it."
With the points streak now in the rearview mirror, the Bruins are ready to move forward - with the same approach they've been using for the last two months.
"I haven't thought about it really," Krug said of the streak. "It's just been showing up every day and it's been a lot of fun winning games and getting points every single night. That's going to be our mentality going forward."