BOSTON — The Bruins launched the second half of their season after the NHL All-Star break with a 4-1 loss to the Flames at TD Garden on Tuesday night, the first of a seven-game homestand.
With the loss, Boston drops to 31-10-9, while Calgary improves to 23-22-5.
Fresh off the NHL All-Star break and facing one of the poorest teams in the Western Conference, the Bruins battled throughout regulation to find the back of Calgary’s net.
Boston’s fortitude was put to the test, starting the night with a 2-0 deficit against a Flames club that entered the game ranked 24th in total points (49) and had only held opponents scoreless once in its previous 16 games.
After a few shoving battles with Calgary, Boston clearly possessed the physical will to not back down. However, only limited results were obtained.
Despite having plenty of time in the final two periods of play, the Bruins were unable to score an equalizer and exert enough pressure on Calgary. With a 5-on-3 power-play advantage in the final session, Pavel Zacha avoided a shutout by attempting to spark a late-game rally.
Taking note of a potential pendulum swing by Boston, the Flames answered less than two minutes later, with Jonathan Huberdeau extending Calgary’s advantage to two. That proved enough, even though the Bruins had 13:02 — the majority of the period — left to come up with a drive for Overtime at the very least.
