Go figure.

In the last four contests, the Black and Gold lose two games last week to the lowest rung of the NHL ladder in Colorado and Toronto – both at home. This week, they beat the best team in the league and historic archrival Montreal, and then push the defending Stanley Cup Pittsburgh Penguins to a come-from-behind OT – both on the road.

This overall pattern pretty consistent all season. Not pretty, but hanging on in the improved Eastern Conference, especially the stronger Metropolitan Division that currently has the two wild card teams in Columbus and Washington. That means the Bruins likely need to finish top-3 in the Atlantic to assure a playoff berth. Entering Thursday night they were just that behind Montreal and Ottawa

“We just have to keep trying to be in the top three. That’s the main goal right now in our division,” Claude Julien said about an hour before first faceoff.

The next two up on the seesaw ride to the New Year are two of the best from the west in Anaheim and Los Angeles, perennial favorites to parade Lord Stanley.

Backups Anton Khudobin (1-4-0), spelling Tuukka Rask vs. Jonathan Bernier (5-2-1) in nets; both teams with 35 points each.

“They’re a big team that plays a heavy game,” Julien said before the game about the visitor’s style.

Anaheim did just that.

“Anaheim’s got a few very good, very big boys that it’s tough to knock them off the puck,” David Backes said after the game. “Get out of there and make them play in their zone and defend where they’re not just setting up camp in our end.”

Boston did not do that.

Below .500 at home again at 7-8-0, here’s what we learned after Thursday’s entertaining and fast-paced game ended in the “L “column.

Grzelcyk’s first home game

Charlestown’s own and former Boston University captain Matt Grzelcyk playing his first NHL game at home after debuting Wednesday night on the B’s blue line in Pittsburgh where he skated a regular shift in the 4-3 OT loss. His TD Garden professional baptism would read 10:24 on 19 shifts.

“Obviously, got a chance to do it in college,” Grzelcyk said after about playing his first NHL home game with family in the stands. “But, now with the Bruins sweater, it means a little bit more. I just tried to keep it in the back of my mind. Not tonight. Maybe I’ll think about it when I get home.”

Bruins strike 13 seconds apart in wildest first 20 minutes of the season

The crowd on Causeway Street got their money’s worth in the first period.

Anaheim was 13-1-1 when scoring the game’s first goal. With two Bruins’ infractions in the first five minutes, that stat was front and center, but Khudobin and Boston’s third-best PK in the NHL prevailed on both.

Khudobin made two highlight-reel saves at the 10- and 11-minute marks on partial breakaways. Sixty seconds later, Zdeno Chara scored at 12:07 on a blast from the point with Backes and Brad Marchand assisting. Thirteen ticks later, it was Ausin Czarnik beating Bernier for the two-goal lead at 12:20 with Ryan Spooner and Riley Nash getting the assists.

Lickety-split at 12:44, Andrew Cogliano rolled one over Khudobin’s pads off an errant Bruins’ clear to cut the lead in half.

The three goals in 37 seconds were the fastest in a B’s game since 1987 when it was accomplished in 34 seconds against St. Louis

Kevin Bieksa prevailed in a Julien offside challenge when he bolted out of the box as a B’s PP expired and beat Khudobin five-hole on the clean breakaway at 17:50.

“Trading chances is a coin flip,” Backes said, “and we’re getting the wrong side of the coin flip.”

Second verse close to the first

Josh Mason found himself alone in a Khudobin-vacated crease, again off a B’s D miscue. He had 24 square feet of daylight to put the Ducks ahead.

A minute later at 2:06, Boston struck on its third power-play opportunity when David Krejci put a rebound of a Torey Krug shot past Bernier for a short-lived tie; Backes also assisting. The Bruins had scored three or more goals in just a third of its total games thus far.

Rickard Rakell took up residence at Khudobin’s right post – at the right time — sending a rebound home for the 4-3 lead. On Anaheim’s 16th shot on net.

“Not that we didn’t have the effort or the push to get at least a point out of it,” Chara added postgame. “But, sometimes, the games are decided earlier than the second half of that game.”

That would be the case Thursday night. The seven-goal total to that point matched seven other seven-goal-total final scores, second only to the 6-3 opener back on October 13.

“I think we can certainly be a team that can score a little bit more from here until the end of the year,” Julien said pregame about his anemic offense that scored two or fewer goals in 20 of 31 games heading into Thursday night.

Double zero’s in frantic finish

The third went scoreless, but not before Boston’s final and frantic push for the equalizer with Khudobin on the bench.

“It’s our third game in four nights,” Julien said. “And it showed in some of the kind of goals we gave up, mistakes and giving the lead. So, I thought we had a decent start, and I thought our third period, we at least gave it a good push. It’s a tough schedule this year, and we have to learn to persevere through it, and try and find ways to win hockey games.”

“You want to get a bright result, but, I didn’t get it, again,” Khudobin said. “So, really, just more probably angry than disappointed.”

Next ride on the seesaw Sunday afternoon when the Kings come to town.