There are frustrating ways to lose a hockey game, and then there’s whatever ended up happening at TD Garden tonight.
After erasing a 2-0 deficit and then scoring with the goalie pulled to tie the game 3-3,
Carter Verhaeghe’s shot hit the post, flew out near the circle, hit Andrew Peeke, and went in the net to win the game for Florida with 26 seconds left.
Don’t bother trying to read that again, just scroll down and watch the highlight. It was as weird as it sounds.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Bruins, while Florida ended a four-game losing streak of their own with the win.
The return of Brad Marchand was the big story heading into the game, and he earned his video tribute by recording two assists.
Mackie Samoskevich got the scoring started with a power play goal just a minute into the game, making it 1-0 Panthers.
AJ Greer pounced on a loose puck and beat Jeremy Swayman two minutes into the second period to make it 2-0 Panthers.
After killing two consecutive penalties late in the second and early in the third, the Bruins got on the board 2:46 into the final period with Pavel Zacha finishing off a nice passing play to make it 2-1 Panthers.
Elias Lindholm would cash in on the power play just two minutes later to make it a 2-2 game.
Eetu Luostarinen would put the Panthers back on top with a nice finish just five minutes later, making it 3-2 Panthers.
To their credit, the Bruins didn’t go away, and they were rewarded: Morgan Geekie scored from the top of the crease to make it a 3-3 game with 1:31 left.
And then…sometimes all you can do is laugh, right? It’s going to be a long season.
Bruins LOSE! 4-3 final as Florida ends their losing streak.
Game notes
- I mean…what can you say about that finish? After a spirited third period that saw the Bruins come back twice, to lose on an off-the-post-off-your-own-defenseman-and-in goal is best summed up as a kick in the nuts.
- I like to think that it wasn’t a technical glitch, but was instead the TD Garden timekeeper up to shenanigans in making the clock read 2:60 after Florida’s game-winning goal. “I don’t know, it’s broken,” didn’t quite work, but it was an admirable effort.
- In case you missed it, the Bruins obviously played a Brad Marchand video tribute, and it turned into a pretty emotional moment for the man himself.
- Speaking of Marchand, he had two assists tonight. Per the ESPN broadcast, it was his 135th multipoint game at TD Garden, the most of any player.
- While the Bruins did end up scoring with the man advantage in the third period, they left plenty of momentum-changing chances on the board by going just 1-for-5 on the power play.
- He was ultimately doomed by a ridiculous bounce and some defensive miscues, but Jeremy Swayman played a decent game for the Bruins, making a couple of big stops to keep the B’s in it while 2-0 down.
- Casey Mittelstadt had a bounce-back game for the Bruins, recording a goal and an assist after being a healthy scratch against Utah on Sunday.
- The Czech lads also had two-point nights for the B’s: 1G-1A for Zacha, 0G-2A for David Pastrnak.
- It was a tough night at the office for Mason Lohrei, who got beaten to a loose puck on the Greer goal and got burnt by Luostrarinen on his goal. Shortly after the latter, ESPN displayed a “WORST PLUS-MINUS IN THE LEAGUE LAST SEASON” graphic on the screen, so…yeah.
- File under “Making the Most of Your Opportunity:” Greer, a former Bruin who did not receive a video tribute, took one shot in just 5:50 of ice time. He scored on that shot.
- Fraser Minten skated just 7:07 for the Bruins, lowest on the team by about two full minutes.
- In a scheduling quirk, Marchand and the Panthers won’t return to TD Garden again this season, as the next two match-ups between these teams will take place in Florida.
Decent effort, good determination to get back in the game, but ultimately not enough. It’s a little long, but that might end up being the 2025-2026 slogan.
The B’s will look to avoid losing a half-dozen in a row when Anaheim comes to town on Thursday. They may need some help on the blue line for that game as well.
(It sounds worse when you say “half-dozen in a row,” doesn’t it? My bad.)
