Bruins hit new low as offense struggles in ugly loss to Golden Knights originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

There are only 25 days left in the 2024-25 NHL regular season, but for Boston Bruins fans, this stretch might feel like an eternity.

It’s one thing to lose games on a consistent basis. It’s another to lose games and look inept at both ends of the ice. Unfortunately for the Bruins, their current situation is more the latter.

In what has been a very disappointing season for the Bruins, the team sunk to a new low in Thursday night’s ugly 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on the road.

The Bruins tallied just 19 shots against the Golden Knights despite trailing most of the night. It’s the second time in the last three games Boston has been held below 20 shots. Overall, the B’s have registered fewer than 20 shots in nine games this season. That happened only four times in the previous four seasons combined.

Right now, Boston’s offense is pretty much David Pastrnak or Morgan Geekie scoring a goal or creating a Grade A chance for a teammate. The B’s have scored 44 goals since Feb. 1, and Pastrnak and Geekie have combined to score 19 of them. No other Bruins player has more than three goals during that 17-game stretch. This team has zero offensive threats outside of those two guys, so it wasn’t surprising that Geekie scored the lone goal versus the Knights and Pastrnak picked up an assist on it.

The Bruins had a jolt of energy following the trade deadline with back-to-back wins against quality opponents in the Lightning and Panthers. But all of that momentum was quickly erased by four consecutive losses. And it’s not just that the Bruins are losing, they’re getting blown out in a lot of games. Thursday’s game was the 14th time Boston has lost by four or more goals this season. That’s a really high number.

There are a lot of issues with this Bruins roster. General manager Don Sweeney has a lot of work to do in the offseason to fix the mess he’s created.

The No. 1 priority needs to be bolstering the offensive talent up front.

Scoring goals in all situations, including the power play, has been a season-long struggle for this team. This problem is even greater when you consider the Bruins play in a division that features three of the league’s top 10 teams (Maple Leafs, Lightning and Panthers) in goals scored and power play percentage.

Even though reaching the playoffs is an unrealistic goal at the moment — MoneyPuck’s model gives Boston a 0.5 percent chance of securing a wild card berth — there are still a few things the Bruins can accomplish over their last 12 games.

One of them is give some prospects a chance to prove themselves against NHL competition.

Top prospect Fabian Lysell was recalled earlier this week and is expected to play on the current road trip. He has played in only one career game for the Bruins since being selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He has played well for Providence this season and has improved his two-way skill set. The B’s need to see if he can be part of the team’s long-term plans. The best way to do that is give him as many reps as possible against NHL opponents.

The Bruins also need to evaluate the players they acquired in deals prior to the trade deadline. Where does Casey Mittelstadt best fit in the lineup? Is he a center or a wing? Which position on the power play best suits him?

Marat Khusnutdinov has scored two goals in six games with the Bruins, who have played him in a more offensive-minded role than he had with the Wild. He brings plenty of speed to the lineup, which the B’s desperately need. Could he become a fixture in the bottom-six moving forward?

Henri Jokiharju is a good skater and moves the puck well. Could the young defenseman be a third pairing option next season?

These are all questions the Bruins must address in the final few weeks of the regular season. They have to evaluate what they already have on the roster and try to improve their draft lottery odds as much as possible. The future has to be the sole focus of the organization.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins play the third and final game of the season series. The Blue Jackets have won both games played this year. 

The struggling Blue Jackets have a huge game tonight against the Penguins. A win will bring them two points closer to the wild card 2 spot, but a loss drop them to within two points of 7th place Pittsburgh. In fact, should they win, they would jump from sixth to fourth in the Metro. 

However, there's just one thing to remember: The Columbus Blue Jackets have won just one game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh in the last ten years, and that win came in January. That game was the game that Sean Monahan was injured. 

Friday's game is crucial! 

Penguins Stats

• Power Play – 24.0% - 10th in NHL
• Penalty Kill – 77.3% - 19th in NHL
• Goals For - 204 – 16th – 2.90 GPG – 19th
• Goals Against – 249 – 31st – 3.56 GPG – 31st

Series History vs. The Penguins

• Columbus is 5-18-5 on the road and 18-29-9 in 56 all-time meetings vs. Pittsburgh.
• The Jackets are 4-3-1 in the last eight against the Pens, but have won three straight games.
• The CBJ has won one game at PPG Paints Arena since November 13, 2015. That win came on Jan 7, 2025. 

Who To Watch For The Penguins

• Sidney Crosby leads the team with 50 assists and 74 points.  
• Rickard Rakell leads the Pens with 31 goals. 
• Alex Nedeljkovic is 12-14-5 with a .891 SV%. 

CBJ Player Notes vs. Penguins

• Damon Severson has 20 points in 44 career games vs. Pittsburgh.
• Zach Werenski has 13 points in 20 games.  
• James van Riemsdyk has 31 points in 55 games vs. the Pens.

Injuries

• Erik Gudbranson (upper body) is on Injured Reserve on Oct. 16 (65 Games)

• Sean Monahan (upper body) is on Injured Reserve retroactive to Jan. 7 (27 Games)
• Kevin Labanc (shoulder) is on Injured Reserve as of Feb. 21 and is out for the season (12 Games)
• Cole Sillinger is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (9 Games)
• Jake Christiansen (upper body); (3 Games)

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 293

How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. Steve Mears will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.

Let us know what you think below.

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Montreal Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield was interviewed on Montreal radio station BPM Sports this morning. Many topics were discussed, but what stood out for me was how he spoke about his coach, Martin St-Louis.

Asked where his current coach ranks amongst all the coaches he’s had in his life, Caufield said:

You know, probably one, I think. It doesn’t get much better than that. Obviously looking up to a guy like that growing up and then getting to see how he guides you and teaches you. He’s probably different than many coaches, but I think he gets a lot out of his players; he’s well-respected, and the practices are fun, too.

When Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton decided to hire St-Louis, a man who had never been a bench boss in the NHL, some believed he’d just be around to finish the season. Then they changed their tune to “he won’t be there when this team is ready to make the playoffs” after he was signed to a three-year contract. The Canadiens are battling hard for a ticket to the Spring dance, and the Hall of Famer is still leading his players after the Habs exercised their two-year option to extend the coach.

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A coach who has never played in the NHL and is a career coach might have had trouble getting respect from his players, but it’s impossible for his players not to respect St-Louis. He’s been in their skates and has lived their dream up to the ultimate goal.

Unlike old-school coaches, he’s well-equipped to coach today’s players. He doesn’t have a “you’re going to do what I tell you to do, and that’s that” approach. He doesn’t mind explaining to his players why he’s asking them to play a certain way. He doesn’t run a dictatorship; he runs a nurturing environment in which everyone can learn, regardless of age.

Earlier this week, St-Louis also told the press that it’s very easy, to be honest with players and to “tell them your truth,” another characteristic of his that Caufield said was appreciated, especially in a business where there’s always a younger guy ready to step up and take your spot.

There’s no better example of St-Louis’ ability to coach than how he got Josh Anderson to embrace his new role on the team and how successful he is. If you ask me, St-Louis is there for the long haul, and he’s told the media in the past he’d do anything to get the Canadiens, his dad’s favorite team, a 25th Stanley Cup. It won’t be this year, but the coach showed in his playing career that he’s not one to give up, and that hasn’t changed.

The Canadiens have a day off today but they'll be back in action on Saturday night as they'll welcome the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre in another must-win tilt. 

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In the next three games, the Montreal Canadiens may be facing some big goaltenders. The first in this group will be Mackenzie Blackwood who is 6’4”. This is where a lot of video scouting can help. All teams do it and I think they should make sure players study some of these goaltenders tendencies with important points on the line. 

Facing the Avalanche is hard enough but now Blackwood is back to what he was with the New Jersey Devils. He’s only given up three goals in his last two games against the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s physically strong and hard to beat in the crease. Ironically, the Avs lost both of those games, so there’s that.

Next up are the St. Louis Blues. They are hot. 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and currently in a playoff spot. They have turned things around and the Canadiens will have their hands full, presumably, with Jordan Binnington. He’s won four of his last five games. At 6’2”, he might be the smallest one they face. If they face Joel Hofer, he’s 6’5” and very talented too.

Then it’s time for the Philadelphia Flyers. They are going with a tandem but these days facing 6’7” Ivan Fedotov is a much harder goalie to face. His legs are gigantic. He gave up just one goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s been getting better and better. Fedotov flops less and covers the corners better. So this could be challenging when you need the points. 

There are very few easy games in the NHL.

As the Red Wings manage two injuries heading into three games on the road, Detroit opted to recall a pair of reinforcements from the Grand Rapids Griffins (both under emergency conditions, because they are injury replacements): forward Austin Watson and defenseman Brogan Rafferty.

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Watson and Rafferty arrive as insurance options should Elmer Soderblom and Erik Gustafsson (neither of them healthy enough to practice Thursday) prove unable to go.  Dominik Shine and William Lagesson are likely ahead of both those newcomers in the queue to enter the lineup, but with the Red Wings heading out west, they clearly still desire reserve options should the team pick up another injury on the road.

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Watson played two games for the Red Wings back in October (both at fewer than 10 minutes of ice time) in what feels like an entirely different season by now.  In 56 games this season for the Griffins, Watson has 16 points and 21 assists, though at the NHL level, he's much better known for his physicality than his scoring touch.

Rafferty, meanwhile, has played in just two career NHL games and none since the 2020-21 season when he was a Vancouver Canuck.  You may recall that Rafferty was a regular call-up for the Red Wings last season when they needed an insurance option on the blue line, but he never actually featured in a game.

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The Red Wings are scheduled to practice at 11 AM Thursday morning, after which coach Todd McLellan should provide further details on Soderblom and Gustafsson's status, along with the team's plans for Watson and Rafferty.

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There are losses that sting, and then there are losses that frustrate. This one? A little bit of both.

The Philadelphia Flyers came into Washington desperate for a spark after two straight shutouts. They found one in Ryan Poehling, whose second-period goal snapped their scoring drought and injected some much-needed life into the lineup. 

They kept grinding, won two crucial coaches’ challenges, and had a dominant third period where they were the better team in almost every facet—except the one that mattered most.

Despite their push, Charlie Lindgren was on his game in net for the Capitals, and the Flyers just couldn’t find that tying goal. 

1. Ryan Poehling Breaks the Drought and Brings the Energy

The Flyers hadn’t found the back of the net in over 190 minutes when Ryan Poehling finally ended the dry spell. It was a simple goal—a no-frills wrister that you might’ve missed if you blinked—but it got the job done.

Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) on XJust a flick of the wrist for Poehls. #PHIvsWSH | #LetsGoFlyers

And just like that, the Flyers had life again.

“The only way you can get confidence scoring goals is to score a couple,” head coach John Tortorella told reporters postgame.

You could feel the lift in the bench, in the play, in the way they carried themselves for the rest of the game. It’s amazing what a single goal can do. 

It was also fitting that it came from Poehling, a player who has quietly been a key depth piece all season. He’s been a relentless forechecker, a strong penalty killer, and a guy who plays with the kind of energy that can be contagious. In a game where the Flyers desperately needed a jolt, he provided it.

Even after the Capitals re-extended their lead, the Flyers didn’t fold. That goal was a spark, and while they didn’t complete the comeback, it was a step toward getting their offense back on track.

2. Two Huge Coaches’ Challenges Showed the Flyers’ Resilience

If there’s one thing you can’t question about this team, it’s their compete level. That was on full display in the second period, when two massive challenges—both successful—kept them in the game.

“It was a great night for our video coaches,” John Tortorella told media after the game. “They should get paid more.” 

The first challenge came after Washington appeared to take a 4-1 lead. But a review showed that the goal resulted from a hand pass, and just like that, the deficit stayed at two. A game-changing moment.

The second challenge was even bigger. With the Flyers pressing, Sean Couturier found a loose puck in the crease and jammed it over the line. The play was initially waved off, but the Flyers challenged—and after a long review, the call was overturned. Goal. Suddenly, it was 3-2, and the Flyers had real momentum.

Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) on XCoots (and Torts) weren't giving up. 😤 #PHIvsWSH | #LetsGoFlyers

Those moments say a lot about the mindset of this team. They’re engaged, they’re fighting for every inch, and they’re willing to take their chances when the opportunity arises. The Flyers could have easily been looking at a 4-1 game heading into the third. Instead, they had a real shot at tying it.

3. The Flyers Were the Better Team Late—But the Goals Didn’t Come

The third period was all Flyers. They dominated possession, outshot Washington 16-2, and spent long stretches in the offensive zone. The desperation was there, the effort was there, the chances were there—but the tying goal never came.

That’s the most frustrating part of this one. The process was right—and it has been across this recent stretch of games—but the finish just wasn’t there. Some of that was Lindgren, who played an outstanding game in net for the Capitals. Some of it, though, was self-inflicted.

Tortorella made a specific point postgame about Travis Konecny, who has been in a bit of a slump lately. The 28-year-old winger had a couple of opportunities but, instead of shooting, he looked to pass. And Tortorella acknowledged the frustration surrounding knowing what Konecny is capable of, but not seeing that translate to goals.

“I’ve been talking to him,” he told reporters postgame. “With TK, you can see where it’s at when he should turn that 2-on-0 into a 1-on-0. He should go down and say, ‘I’m scoring this goal,’ not getting involved in a passing play. That’s where his mindset is right now.”

It’s a simple statement, but an important one. Konecny is at his best when he’s playing direct, aggressive hockey. When he hesitates, when he looks to make the perfect play instead of taking the shot that’s in front of him, he’s not as effective. And in a game where the Flyers needed just one more goal, those decisions made a difference.

“I want him to score that goal, not make a pass,” Tortorella continued. “Take the ice away from [Matvei Michkov, who received the pass in question], and you go score that goal. That’s the way he’s gonna get out of it…That’s the player he is.” 

Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) on XI'm sure I've watched players be stuck in their own heads more than Travis Konecny is right now, but for the life of me, I can't think of a single one at the moment. It's wild how much he looks like he's overthinking every offensive opportunity.

And this is not to single Konecny out—he’s been one of the Flyers’ most important players all season, and certainly not the only player on this team that’s had terrible puck luck. But it’s emblematic of the larger issue: the Flyers have the skills and they had their chances. They just didn’t capitalize.

Final Thoughts

If the Flyers had played the entire game like they played the third period, we’re probably talking about a different outcome. That’s both frustrating and encouraging.

Frustrating, because they had an opportunity to steal at least a point and didn’t. Encouraging, because this performance was a huge step up from the two games that came before it. The offense started to click. The energy was back. They played hard until the final horn.

And right now, that’s what they have to build on.

The playoff race is razor-thin. Every point matters. Every moment matters. The Flyers didn’t get the result they wanted in Washington, but if they carry this momentum into the next game—if they bring that third-period team from the opening faceoff—they’ll give themselves a real shot at getting back in the win column.

After months of trade rumors, the Buffalo Sabres dealt forward Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators on deadline day in a major move.

In the trade, the Senators acquired Cozens, defenseman Dennis Gilbert, and a 2026 second-round pick, while the Sabres landed forward Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker.

It was no secret that the Sabres were open to shaking up their roster after performing below expectations yet again this campaign. However, there is no question that Cozens is benefitting from his change of scenery early on.

In his first seven games with the Senators, Cozens has three goals, six points, 28 hits, and a plus-1 rating. This includes scoring a goal in the Senators' most recent matchup against the Colorado Avalanche on March 20. 

With numbers like these, Cozens is not only making an impact offensively but also providing plenty of grit for the Senators in the process. He has been looking more like the impactful top-six power forward he was with the Sabres during their 2022-23 season, where he set career highs with 31 goals, 37 assists, and 68 points.

Sometimes, players thrive after getting a fresh start, and Cozens is early on. It will be interesting to see if the former Sabre can keep this kind of play up with the Senators from here. 

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