Haggerty On The Bruins: Sometimes You Play Well And Still Lose
BOSTON (CBS) - The Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins lost their second game of the postseason after dropping Game 1 Thursday night 4-3 in double overtime at the hands of the rival Canadiens.
Yes, the B's lost home ice advantage, but nobody in Boston should be pressing the panic button just yet according to CSNNE's Joe Haggerty.
Quite frankly, sometimes you play a good hockey game and still lose.
"They owned the play for many portions [of the game]. They didn't finish. I think you've got to be encouraged just by the amount of chances they were getting against the Montreal Canadiens, specifically the [David] Krejci - [Milan] Lucic - [Jarome] Iginla line. Twenty shot attempts, 11 shots on net. Each of them missed on a super Grade A scoring chance that they usually bury," said Haggs.
"If they continue to get those, and they continue to cycle in the offensive zone and have that offensive zone time that they did in Game 1, the Bruins are gonna be in good shape."
Haggerty wants to see more out of Vezina finalist Tuukka Rask, who did not have his best game Thursday night. Rask is still winless at 0-9 all time against Montreal at the TD Garden.
"Tuukka Rask was average and needs to be better than that, especially when the guy at the other end of the ice is making 48 saves in Carey Price and holding up his end of the bargain."
Haggs also pointed out some mistakes made by the Bruins' inexperienced defensemen -- mistakes that were caused by the speed of the Canadiens "that ultimately proved to be their downfall."
Even though Matt Bartkowski's holding penalty in double overtime led to the game-winner by P.K. Subban, Haggs believes his job is safe because fellow blueliner Andrej Meszaros isn't really threatening for ice time.
"Bartkowski is one of the best skaters on the Bruins. Yes he had some mistakes. He didn't look that great. But you do not want a statue like Andrej Meszaros out there against the Montreal Canadiens. I don't think [Meszaros] is the kind of player that can thrive against the Canadiens. You need fast skaters, and Bartkowski is one of them."
It's only a one game deficit, and the Bruins have a chance to even it up Saturday afternoon.
Just remember: in the opening round series of the 2011 playoffs the Bruins fell to 0-2 against the Canadiens and came back to win it in seven games. We all know how that postseason turned out.
Listen below for the full discussion:
Haggerty: Sometimes You Play Well And Still Lose
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