Takeaways: Bruins put forth an uninspiring effort in Winnipeg

The Boston Bruins didn’t exactly arrive in Winnipeg as a confident bunch. They carried a skid of back-to-back overtime losses into Friday’s contest, both after failing to hold onto a one-goal lead against the Rangers and Wild.

The efforts weren’t as much in question as the crunch-time execution from those pair of OT setbacks. And in Tuesday’s outing against Minnesota, Boston’s competitive spirit shined in the final minutes of regulation after Brad Marchand netted an equalizer shortly after allowing a Ryan Hartman tying marker and Kirill Kaprizov’s subsequent go-ahead tally.

The Bruins, however, left TD Garden with a bitter taste in their mouth after Kaprizov netted the overtime winner. On Friday, they were figuratively punched in the mouth by the red-hot Jets.

Jeremy Swayman saw 33 shots and denied Mark Scheifele on a penalty shot late in the second period. But the third-year netminder hardly stood a chance. 

The Jets encountered little to no issues entering their attacking zone. A patchwork Boston blue-line, without Matt Grzelcyk, struggled to possess pucks around Swayman’s crease, leaving plenty of room along the slot and net-front areas for primary and secondary scoring opportunities.

Josh Morrissey provided a back-breaking tally late in the first, converting on a rebound off an odd-man rush.

A pair of gritty goals from Gabriel Valardi and Nino Neidereitter provided Winnipeg with plenty of insurance. Adam Lowry’s tap-in marker 1:25 into the third and Neidereitter’s second power-play tally during the final seconds of regulation added injury to insult.

The Bruins showed little resistance against Winnipeg’s forecheck, succumbing to frequent turnovers in transition. They also struggled to generate any rhythm offensively, settling for several one-and-done attacking zone shifts, resulting in a paltry 25 shots on goal.

Brandon Carlo netted Boston’s only tally with a seeing-eye shot from the point during garbage time. 

A quick rematch with the Wild awaits in less than 24 hours. In the meantime, here’s what we learned from the Bruins’ ugly 5-1 loss to the Jets.

Boston’s compete level spiraled

The recent defensive breakdowns and struggles to create scoring chances outside of Marchand and David Pastrnak carried over into the first game of Boston’s pre-holiday break back-to-back. Yet, the Bruins bucked one trend from their two-game skid, and this one for all the wrong reasons.

The Bruins looked like a team in survival mode from the get-go. They hardly pushed back against a physical Winnipeg bunch, losing several puck battles along the walls and in open ice.

Every facet of their game faltered, especially at the faceoff dot where the Bruins won just 29 of 68 draws.

“We didn’t win enough one-on-one battles, starting at the faceoff circle,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery told NESN’s Andy Brickley. “It just spiraled downhill from there.”

The Bruins looked lost defending the rush from the opening puck drop. Amid their lack of attention to detail, they nearly escaped the first 20 minutes unscathed.

But the tides quickly turned as the Jets created one of their several odd-man rushes after Charlie McAvoy failed to connect with a crashing Pastrnak in front of Connor Hellybuyck. Hampus Lindholm was in no-man land in the initial 2-on-1, resulting in Villardi’s shot attempt and Morrisey banking home a rebound after Marchand got turned inside-out trying to locate the puck.

“We didn’t come to play tonight, and that’s on us. Obviously they did, and it showed, especially in the first period and throughout the game,” Carlo told reporters. “We didn’t get much momentum at any point. They played a very good game tonight.”

The Bruins need to rectify the last-minute mishaps.

Montgomery spent the beginning of Thursday’s practice in Brighton addressing the concerns surrounding Boston’s performances in the 3-on-3 overtime and final minute of regulation. If only their funk in the last 60 seconds of a period didn’t carry over into the final moments of the opening 20.

Behind Morrissey’s rebound marker and Neidereitter’s uncontested tally from the slot, the opportunistic Jets scored twice with under 20 seconds remaining in the first and third frames, respectively. 

Neidereitter’s second of the game also marked Boston’s fourth instance this season relinquishing a goal within the final minute of regulation.

“We want to end periods [strong], and to have this trend that’s happening now where we get scored on in the last minute is unacceptable,” Swayman said to the media. “We’re gonna do everything we need to do, talk about it as a team, and dial it in in the last minute for sure.”

Swayman stayed as composed as possible given the circumstances. Both he and Linus Ullmark provided the Bruins with a chance to win on almost any given night after picking up where they left off from their stellar 2022-23 campaign(s).

Without the league’s top tandem, the Bruins wouldn’t sit atop the Atlantic Division. But for all the highlights and goalie hugs, Boston’s defensive core needs to desperately tighten up its coverage, especially within the last 60 seconds of any period.

“Those are never good goals to give up right before the end of a period,” Carlo said. “Honestly, in that first period the only reason why we’re close is because of Sway. We’ve got to clean up a lot for sure.”

Could a quick turnaround help? 

After their uninspiring effort at Canada Life Centre, the Bruins departed from Winnipeg for their relatively short flight to St. Paul ahead of their matchup with the Wild.

Saturday’s tilt at Xcel Energy Center provides a pair of unique opportunities for redemption. Not only will the slumping Bruins hope to bounce back from their porous outing against Winnipeg, but they’ll also look to avenge their self-inflicted overtime loss against Minnesota.

Unlike Tuesday’s tilt against the Wild, the Bruins hardly played to their identity to kick off their brief two-game trip. After Friday, Montgomery will need to see more urgency and a return to basics within their forechecking and defensive setup.

Otherwise, the Bruins could very well carry a four-game skid on the other side of the holiday break.

“It’s what you love about sports, right?” Montgomery told Brickley. “You get an opportunity to bounce back the next night, and we’ve got to come and we’ve got to play Bruins hockey. We have to play to our identity.”