Bruins Fail to Get Win in Game 2 of Stanley Cup Final

After Monday night’s game in which the Boston Bruins had been able to control much of the play, especially during the second period, their performance on Wednesday night was a tad disconcerting. The St. Louis Blues seemed to have more chances and dominated during the second period. Surprisingly, after having gone into the first intermission tied at two each, that was where the score would stay until 3:51 of the overtime period.

Despite having scored first and then responded quickly after the Blues tied it up the first time, the Bruins just couldn’t seem to shake St. Louis throughout much of the game.

“They seemed to play with more urgency tonight than they did Game 1. What they did was I thought they were on top of us, tighter than they did the first game. They didn’t allow us to get the space. As a result, we didn’t seem to win as many races as we did Game 1 to pucks. Some of that is on us. I don’t think we managed it well enough. I think we got spread out all over the ice. So, give them credit for being tighter than us and getting to pucks first. As a result, spent a lot of time in our end. So, that was self-inflicted,” stated Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy after the game.

The more concerning issue at this point for Boston is the likely loss of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk for the remainder of the series. He took a serious hit to the head toward the end of the first period and ultimately had to be helped off the ice by Zdeno Chara and the Bruins trainer. He did not return.

“Well he got hit from behind. That’s what was called. His head got driven into the glass. So, he went to the hospital to get some tests,” said Coach Cassidy.

Grzelcyk was near the boards and was losing his balance when Oskar Sundqvist came behind him and leveled him. There was some suggestion that NHL Player Safety planned to look into the hit, but there was no indication Wednesday night if they would be seeking supplemental discipline. When asked about the hit, Sundqvist himself did not wish to comment.

“I don’t think that’s a hit we want in our game, I think it’s from behind, elevated in to his head into the glass. If that’s a two-minute penalty, there’s going to be a shortage of defensemen in this series by the end of it. That’s in somebody else’s hands. That’s something I think that if I’m making that hit, I’m probably watching from the bleachers for a few but we will see what happens with their player,” shared Bruins forward David Backes.

This is not to say that Backes believes that hits shouldn’t be in the game. Physicality, especially in the Stanley Cup Final, is to be expected.

While Grzelcyk’s absence was huge, the overall play of the Bruins was, as Coach Cassidy assessed, not their best. Patrice Bergeron who is normally well above 50% in faceoffs was a surprisingly nominal 38%. Meanwhile his line mates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak struggled with the puck throughout the night. Marchand tallied at least four give aways.

“We need to be better. Personally, I wasn’t good the last two games so we can’t be playing like that,” said Marchand. “Taking care of little details. I think that’s the biggest thing. It will come. That’s how it is.”

The Bruins know that their first line will get back to doing what they do best. Charlie Coyle mentioned that Bergeron’s line had similar issues during the earlier games of previous rounds and managed to get things going.

One of the advantages to having players like Bergerson, Marchand, Chara and David Krejci is that they have been through this before. The stakes are high, definitely. But it is important for the team to not allow themselves to get too high or too low.

“We just got to reset. Tie ball game right now. No team’s ahead. No team’s behind. It’s one-one. We have a chance next game and time to prepare now, but we just reset, refocus, come back ready to go for the next one,” said Coyle.

In truth the Blues probably deserved to win Game 2, but this series is still up for grabs. The teams will travel to St. Louis on Thursday. They won’t play again until Saturday night. By then, Coach Cassidy will have decided how to fill Grzelcyk’s spot, and the entire Boston squad will be looking at where their mistakes hurt and how to minimize that going into Game 3. Boston has been a good road team and have gotten some important wins on the road during the post season. They are not intimidated by the fans of the opposing team. Of course, St. Louis’ fans will be loud and proud for sure. Sometimes though that kind of a challenge is just what the Bruins need.