The Boston Bruins are working overtime in the midst of a heated playoff race.
After reaching overtime in three straight road games and five of their last six overall, coach Marco Sturm’s Bruins look to get back on the winning track at home when they entertain the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
“We wanted to be .500 and above (on the road trip) and we did that,” Sturm said. “So, now we got to go home and reset.”
The Bruins (37-23-8, 82 points) earned points but also left some on the table. As a result, they are tied with the Detroit Red Wings as the two current Eastern Conference wild-card teams, but the Columbus Blue Jackets sit just one point behind and have a game in hand.
During the final minute of overtime in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss at Montreal, Pavel Zacha’s breakaway opportunity was stopped by Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes. Cole Caufield scored the game-winner at the other end of the ice.
“Sometimes, it’s not on our side,” Sturm said.
Zacha was at the forefront of the attack Tuesday, scoring twice to establish a new career-high goal total of 22 and nearly lifting goaltender Jeremy Swayman to his fifth win in six starts with another tally in overtime. He has scored three in the last two games.
“We are clicking with our line, and it is a lot of fun playing with them. I also think power play helps a lot, too,” Zacha said. “We’re better on the power play than last year. That kind of gives you more of the looks and points there.”
The Jets (28-28-11, 67 points) have a tougher path to the playoffs, with three other teams separating them from the Western Conference cut line, and taking a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday did not help.
Winnipeg held a 39-23 shot advantage and managed to tie the game with just over a minute remaining in regulation, but it wasn’t enough.
Gabriel Vilardi notched a goal and an assist, while Josh Morrissey and Jonathan Toews also scored goals for Winnipeg against Nashville. Kyle Connor assisted on all three Jets goals.
“We had 70 to 80 shot attempts. Their goaltender (Juuse Saros) was outstanding,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “In that second period, some shots he didn’t see. We hit a couple of crossbars and posts and missed the net a few times. We had tons of opportunities and Saros made some big stops.”
It was a point earned to conclude an eight-game homestand at 5-2-1. However, all three losses have come in the last five games.
“Every game’s playoff mode right now for us. That’s the position we put ourselves in because of our earlier in the season trouble,” Vilardi said. “Right now we’re in playoff mode obviously, and we got to preferably get two points, but what are you going to do?”
One downside recently has been the Winnipeg power play, which went 2-for-18 during the recent homestand and 1-for-4 on Tuesday. Improving that statistic will be crucial to navigate the competitive West playoff race.
“Special teams can be difference makers,” defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “We have done a lot of good things, but we have another gear as a group.”
–Field Level Media
