Playing their second game in 24 hours, the Bruins got off to a flying start when Tanner Jeannot scored less than two minutes into the game.
Unfortunately, that was about as good as things would get for the visitors.
Minnesota would score twice in each of the final two periods to pull away from the B’s, skating to a 4-1 win.
Michael DiPietro took the loss in his first NHL start in more than four years, making 26 saves.
Jeannot’s goal came after a hard-working shift from his line, as he collected a Connor Clifton point shot and beat Jesper Wallstedt to make it 1-0 Bruins.
Kirill Kaprizov got the Wild on the board with a power play goal six minutes into the second period, as the Bruins made a somewhat poor choice and left him all alone at the top of the crease. 1-1 game.
Quinn Hughes danced to the high slot and beat DiPietro with a wrist shot six minutes after that, making it 2-1 Wild.
The Wild got a fortuitous bounce to start the third, with Jared Spurgeon’s shot deflecting off of Nikita Zadorov and past DiPietro to make it 3-1 Wild.
The Bruins didn’t exactly roll over, landing 13 shots on goal in the third period, but ultimately, they couldn’t cash in.
Kaprizov would add an empty-netter to seal the deal.
Bruins lose, 4-1.
Game notes
- You could be forgiven for considering this a scheduled loss, given the strength of the opponent, the back-to-back games, and the fact that we’re less than a week into the season. However, the Bruins played a decent enough game overall and were very much “in it.” It would very much be a stretch to say they deserved more from this game, but a few moments shifted the momentum in Minnesota’s favor.
- One of those moments was the deflection on the Spurgeon goal, which is one of those “what are you gonna do?” goals that happens several times a season. The more back-breaking moment was the Hughes goal, as that came with the Bruins just one second away from killing nearly two full minutes of a Minnesota 5-on-3 power play. If you make that kill, it’s a 1-1 game and momentum is on your side; instead, the Wild took the lead and never really looked back.
- Speaking of special teams, the Bruins were let down by their power play in this game, going 0-for-3 on the man advantage. That included nearly four consecutive minutes of power play time midway through the third period, when Minnesota took a minor, killed it off, then took another minor about 30 seconds later. The Wild, meanwhile, scored two of their three non-ENGs on the power play.
- On the season, the B’s are 0-for-6 on the man advantage. Not exactly time to panic quite yet, but not ideal either.
- David Pastrnak remains without a goal on the season, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on Saturday night: the Bruins captain landed five shots on goal and played 21:02, second-most on the B’s behind Hampus Lindholm.
The Bruins will return home to host the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at 7:30 PM.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
