Bruins vs. Wild Takeaways: Defensive Struggles Doom Boston originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Bruins suffered another difficult loss at TD Garden on Saturday night, falling 6-2 to the Minnesota Wild.
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Minnesota took an early lead before breaking the game open with three goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period. Fraser Minten and David Pastrnak scored for Boston, but the Bruins couldn’t keep up with the Wild’s offensive pressure.
Ryan Hartman and Danila Yurov each scored twice for Minnesota, while Jeremy Swayman finished with 21 saves.
The loss dropped Boston to 13-6-1 and marked its second consecutive defeat at home.
Here are four takeaways from the Bruins’ loss to the Wild.
Wild Take Advantage of Bruins’ Defensive Mistakes
Boston struggled to contain Minnesota’s offense throughout the night, with several defensive breakdowns leading to goals.
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Ryan Hartman opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first period, beating Swayman from the left circle after the Bruins returned to even strength. Minnesota carried that advantage into the second period before quickly extending its lead.
Quinn Hughes scored just 53 seconds into the middle frame with a shot from the point. Blake Coleman followed 67 seconds later, with his attempt deflecting off Nikita Zadorov and past Swayman.
The Bruins briefly responded through Minten’s power-play goal, but Hartman scored his second of the night just 75 seconds later. The quick response took away much of the momentum Boston had gained.
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Minnesota continued to find openings in the third period, with Danila Yurov scoring twice to help secure the 6-2 win.
The Bruins have now allowed 11 goals over their last two games after surrendering five in Thursday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Boston will need a much stronger defensive effort to avoid extending that skid.
Fraser Minten Continues to Make an Impact
Minten provided one of the few bright spots for Boston, getting the Bruins on the scoreboard during the second period.
The forward capitalized on the team’s third power-play opportunity of the night at 8:45. David Pastrnak found Minten from behind the net, and the rookie beat Jesper Wallstedt with a shot up high to cut Minnesota’s lead to 3-1.
The goal gave Minten his seventh of the season and continued his productive start with Boston.
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Tanner Jeannot also helped energize the building shortly after Minten’s goal, dropping the gloves with Marcus Foligno. Jeannot landed several punches and took Foligno down, giving the home crowd something to cheer about.
However, the momentum didn’t last long. Hartman’s second goal came shortly after the fight, restoring Minnesota’s three-goal advantage.
Pastrnak Provides Another Offensive Spark
Pastrnak continued to lead Boston’s offense, contributing to both Bruins goals Saturday.
The forward assisted on Minten’s power-play goal before finding the back of the net himself in the third period.
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At 4:45 of the final frame, Nikita Zadorov sent the puck toward Pastrnak in the right circle. Pastrnak fired a shot past Wallstedt to make it a 4-2 game and give Boston a chance to mount a comeback.
The Wild quickly shut that possibility down, though. Yurov scored just 90 seconds later to restore Minnesota’s three-goal lead.
Pastrnak’s third-period goal also snapped a four-game scoring drought. The Bruins forward had gone without a goal in his previous four games before beating Wallstedt on Saturday.
His production remains important for a Boston team that has leaned on him to generate offense throughout the season. However, the Bruins will need more consistent contributions across their lineup to overcome defensive struggles like the ones they experienced against Minnesota.
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Swayman Faces Difficult Night Against Minnesota
Swayman had a challenging assignment against a Wild team that entered Saturday riding a lengthy point streak.
Hartman beat him in the first period before Minnesota added three more goals in the second. Swayman remained in net for the entire game, finishing with 21 saves.
The Bruins goaltender wasn’t given much help defensively, particularly during Minnesota’s second-period surge. Hughes’ goal came through traffic, while Coleman’s attempt took a deflection off Zadorov.
Still, allowing six goals in a game is not the type of performance Boston needs from its defensive group or goaltender, especially with the team now coming off consecutive losses.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
