The Bruins’ second straight loss came with a familiar problem front and center: giveaways and special teams mistakes kept handing Ottawa openings, and the Senators made Boston pay in a 4-1 win Monday night at TD Garden.
Boston opened the game with a power play after Ottawa forward Warren Foegele was called for interference at 7:19 of the first period, but the Senators flipped the script almost immediately. A mishandled puck by David Pastrnak sparked a short-handed 2-on-1, and Tim Stützle finished it off at 7:39 to put Ottawa ahead 1-0.
The trouble didn’t stop there. Late in the same power play, Hampus Lindholm turned the puck over and gave Ottawa another 2-on-1, and Stützle struck again at 9:22, three seconds after the Senators returned to full strength, for a 2-0 lead.
Ottawa kept the pressure on in the second period. Drake Batherson made it 3-0 at 1:06, with Stützle picking up the assist, after a turnover by James Hagens in the neutral zone.
Later in the period, Michael Amadio beat Jeremy Swayman at 5:19 to push the Senators in front 4-0. Shane Pinto and Nick Cousins earned assists on the goal.
The Bruins finally got something back in the third period, when Hagens scored at 3:30 to prevent the shutout. But by then, the game was already well in Ottawa’s control.
The numbers told the same story. Boston finished with 21 giveaways to Ottawa’s 14, and the Senators also held the edge in shots on goal, 24-19.
Swayman stopped 20 of 24 shots for an .833 save percentage. On the other side, Linus Ullmark made 10 saves in 40 minutes, and Samuel Ersson turned aside eight shots in 20 minutes while allowing Boston’s lone goal.
The Bruins will try to regroup Thursday night when they host the Utah Mammoth. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on NESN.
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