The next steep is for the Boston Bruins to turn some positives into results.
Despite coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to tie the game in the third period, a fluky last-minute goal left first-year coach Marco Sturm’s team on the wrong side of a 4-3 decision Tuesday against former Bruins captain Brad Marchand and the Florida Panthers.
Now, the Bruins will look to avoid their sixth straight loss when they entertain the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.
“I think the one thing about this group that I have to say, they do not quit,” Sturm said. “We came back. So, that is a good sign. … We have good people in our locker room. We’re just trying to add pieces and get them on that bus. We still need everyone.”
That’s the good news.
The bad news? Eventual defeats have been there for the taking.
The Bruins’ skid has included four one-goal losses. The latest came via the wackiest of bounces: an off-the-post, off-a-defender goal by Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe, putting a damper on a third period in which Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie scored.
Boston has been short-handed a whopping 21 times during that span but has also had four game-tying opportunities on third-period power plays in as many games prior to Tuesday.
“Showing fight is a positive every night, but at the same time, you’re going to question why we are in the position that we are in. And most of the nights, it’s our own doing,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak said. “That’s something we have to fix, and you can’t be playing from behind or making those mistakes every night.”
Boston defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who has missed back-to-back contests after a one-game return from injury (hamstring), participated in an optional Wednesday practice. Also on the back end, Michael Callahan was recalled from AHL Providence, with Jordan Harris going to injured reserve.
The Ducks have endured an up-and-down start, scoring at least five goals in two of their three victories and only one in all three losses. Tuesday’s 5-2 road win over the Nashville Predators snapped a modest two-game skid (0-1-1) entering the third of a five-game road trip.
Ross Johnston’s goal and two assists not only provided a spark alongside Sam Colangelo and Ryan Poehling on the fourth line, but also a personal bounce-back to being scratched a game before. The 31-year-old winger tallied just four points in 43 games last season and has never had more than seven in a season.
“He’s played four really good games prior to the last game. … He had a good camp,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I don’t know if he’s going to play (every game) the rest of the way when we sat him out one game, but I think he had a good response knowing, ‘Hey, you might not play them all but keep yourself ready to go.'”
Johnston’s return only came when Chris Kreider — whose four goals match fellow Boston College product Cutter Gauthier for the early team lead — was a surprise non-dresser due to illness.
Should Kreider be ready to return, Quenneville will have tough decisions to make about how the bottom of his lineup will look in Boston.
Gauthier was another one of Anaheim’s five different goal scorers and added two assists against the Predators. Recent first-round draft picks Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson each scored their third goals of the season, while Troy Terry also scored to reach ninth on the franchise’s all-time points list.
Carlsson, 20, has points in four of his first six games after totaling 45 last season.
“Boring answer, (I worked on) everything. Really, that’s every summer,” Carlsson said before the trip. “I’m at that age where I can build a lot of muscle and still keep my skill. The focus is just to get better (in every way).”
