The Bruins came out of Texas with a loss, but not much else changed about the shape of their early-season road trip. Boston had ripped through the first three stops in California and was trying to finish off a four-game swing with a sixth straight win against the Dallas Stars. Instead, the trip ended in a 3-2 overtime defeat after the Bruins let a third-period lead slip away and Mikko Rantanen finished a hat trick with the game-winner on the power play in extra time.
Jeremy Swayman did everything he could to keep Boston alive once the game went to overtime, including a pair of saves on Wyatt Johnston breakaways. It still wasn’t enough to stop the Stars from handing the Bruins their first loss of the trip and dropping Boston to 7-2-1.
The good news for the Bruins was that the youth movement kept paying off. Matthew Poitras got Boston on the board early in the first period after Frederic Brunet found him with a cross-ice pass following a Dallas turnover in the defensive end.
Poitras hammered a slap shot past Jake Oettinger for the 1-0 lead. Later, after the Stars had tied it, James Hagens gave Boston a 2-1 edge in the second period by redirecting a pass at the top of the crease.
Two homegrown Bruins scored, and that part of the night was exactly what the club wanted to see.
Boston’s power play, though, was a mess again. The Bruins finished with four opportunities and never cashed in, and the same familiar problems kept showing up: sloppy zone entries, too much passing, not enough shooting.
They didn’t even get a shot on net on their first two man-advantage chances. There were moments when Pavel Zacha looked set to fire, only to move the puck toward David Pastrnak instead.
On one early sequence in the second power play, Dallas pressured Boston so hard that the Bruins had trouble even getting out of their own end. The unit has six power-play goals this season, but only because they piled up three in one game against the Utah Mammoth and three more last Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Bruins also hurt themselves with a costly mistake in their own end. Dallas is a team that leans heavily on its defense and Jake Oettinger, especially because scoring dries up after the top line, so clean exits matter.
Boston couldn’t get the puck out early in the second period, and the Stars made them pay. After Swayman stopped the original shot, Jason Robertson poked the puck away from the Bruins goalie, and Rantanen buried the loose puck to tie the game at 1-1.
Boston still had the lead going into the third, and that had been a strong spot for this team so far. The Bruins had been 3-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes, outscoring opponents 16-5 in third periods entering Tuesday.
But the final frame turned against them quickly. Boston spent the first three minutes on the power play and came up empty, and that missed chance loomed large.
With just over six minutes left, Charlie McAvoy blocked a shot in the slot, but the puck bounced right to Rantanen, who scored his second of the night to make it 2-2. Dallas controlled most of the period from there, and the Stars eventually finished the job in overtime.
Even with the collapse, the Bruins still came away from the West with seven of a possible eight points, which is a strong return for a team that had plenty of questions going into the season. They head back to Boston to host the Nashville Predators on Thursday night at TD Garden.
In Other News...
Bruins Waste Big Opportunity In Loss That Leaves One Clear Concern
The Bruins left Dallas with a point but not the result they wanted, falling 3-2 in overtime at American Airlines Center in a game that felt like a missed chance for a team sitting atop the Atlantic Division and tied for first in the Eastern Conference. Boston had enough strong stretches to make the trip feel winnable, with Jeremy Swayman, Matthew Poitras and Nikita Zadorov among the players who helped keep the game on track.
Still, the details of how the loss unfolded will linger. Boston could not cash in on a key advantage when it needed to separate itself, and by the time overtime arrived, the margin for error had already disappeared. Against a Dallas team led by Mikko Rantanens big night, the Bruins were left with a reminder that even a solid overall performance can turn into an expensive lesson when one area of the game goes missing at the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Gave Fans One More Reason To Watch Khusnutdinov Closely
The Bruins wrapped up a four-game road trip at 3-0-1, a solid stretch that still ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Stars in Dallas. Boston had enough going in the right direction to leave the trip with positives, even if Mikko Rantanens hat trick ultimately swung the night for the home team.
Amid that backdrop, theres a reason to keep a closer eye on Marat Khusnutdinov, who has become part of the conversation around Bostons roster beyond just the immediate results on the ice. The Bruins are also being linked to a possible move involving Dylan Larkins trade landscape, while a few other familiar names around the league have recently found themselves back where they started, adding to a busy stretch of NHL storylines. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Real Chance In A Surprising Trade Watch
A quiet contract standoff in Detroit has suddenly put the Bruins in the middle of an interesting trade watch. Simon Edvinsson and his agent recently met with interim GM Shawn Horcoff as the Red Wings continue to work toward an extension, and Boston is among the teams keeping tabs on the situation as the 6-foot-6 defensemans future hangs in the balance.
Edvinsson has not formally asked out, but the longer talks drag on, the more likely a move starts to look if no deal comes together. Detroit still says it wants to keep him, yet there is clearly enough outside interest to make this one worth monitoring, with the Bruins one of the clubs that could benefit if the Red Wings decide to revisit the market. [Read more 🡒]