Bruins takeaways: DeBrusk leads Canucks to win as B’s offense struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Bruins have lost their first game since interim head coach Joe Sacco replaced Jim Montgomery last week.
Despite outplaying the Vancouver Canucks for large stretches of the game and dominating during 5-on-5 action, the Bruins suffered a 2-0 defeat at TD Garden, which dropped their record to 10-10-3. Ex-Bruin Jake DeBrusk scored a power-play goal in the first period, which ended up being the game-winning tally. Conor Garland added an empty-netter late in the third period.
The B’s came into this matchup with back-to-back wins, but they still haven’t won three games in a row all season. Boston has a 3-4-2 record after a victory.
The Bruins played very well defensively, and goaltender Jeremy Swayman made 13 saves on 14 shots (.929 save percentage). But he was outplayed by Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen, who stopped all 32 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season.
The Bruins will be back in action Wednesday night against the New York Islanders on the road. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Canucks.
Lack of finish still an issue for Bruins
The B’s entered Tuesday as the league’s lowest-scoring team at 2.32 goals per game. They also have the second-worst power play with a 12.8 percent success rate.
After failing to find the back of the net versus the Canucks, the Bruins have now gone six consecutive games without scoring more than two goals, and they’ve done it just twice over the last 11 games. Boston has been shut out four times already this season after being shut out just twice all of last year.
The Bruins controlled much of the game and earned a 72-31 edge in shot attempts, a 33-15 advantage in shots on net, a 36-11 lead in scoring chances and a 18-2 margin in high-danger chances. The Bruins led 20-4 in scoring chances (10-1 in high-danger chances) during 5-on-5 play after two periods but trailed 1-0.
The Bruins have been more aggressive offensively since Sacco took over as interim head coach a week ago. Two of their seven games with 30-plus shots this season have happened since the coaching change. Boston also has a 87-48 lead in scoring chances in Sacco’s three games in charge. But the lack of finish hasn’t improved, and that’s a huge concern for this team’s ability to make the playoffs.
Special teams hurts Bruins again
The Bruins have the league’s 31st-ranked power play and the…