BOSTON — Aside from Wednesday’s win over the New York Islanders, the Bruins have played nothing but close games under interim head coach Joe Sacco.
That trend continued when the Bruins welcomed the Pittsburgh Penguins to TD Garden on Friday.
The Bruins played in their third game decided by a single goal since Sacco took over for Jim Montgomery, but unlike the other occasions, they didn’t come out on the winning side of things. Philip Tomasino netted the decisive goal 7:26 into the third period to lift the Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Bruins.
There is something to be said about playing games that go down to the wire even though it might not be the easiest thing for Bruins fans to sit through. It is a situation Boston must not only become comfortable with, but thrive in because it is these types of games that will routinely pop up in the playoffs. And the loss to the Penguins opened up a learning opportunity for the Bruins in a tightly contested game.
Bad habits showed up at the wrong time for the Bruins and that made the difference in a one-goal game. The Bruins failed to close out the second period, allowing Rickard Rakell to score a back-breaking goal to level the score with only 0.8 seconds remaining in the frame.
Boston’s offense dried up in a major way, too, after Charlie Coyle opened up the scoring just 1:24 into the game. The Bruins couldn’t beat Tristan Jarry (31 saves) again and had a great opportunity with less than 10 minutes to go when they went on the power play, but like too many times this season, Boston couldn’t convert on the man advantage. The Bruins still haven’t scored a third-period goal at TD Garden since their home opener.
The Bruins have received strong defense since Sacco took over and Jeremy Swayman starred by recording 33 saves. But finding the back of the net once just against the team that allows the most goals per game won’t get the job done.
