When the clock finally struck zero at the Staples Center on Saturday night, the Boston Bruins were exhausted. They had put together an impressive effort against the big, bad Los Angeles Kings, at times looking far and away like the best team on the ice. The only problem - it wasn't a complete effort. For the final 40 minutes the Bruins looked like the better team, but the first period was a forgettable one for head coach Claude Julien's group and, ultimately, doomed the B's chances.
With the 2-1 loss to the Kings, the Bruins remain one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second spot in the Atlantic division. It also keeps them tied with the surging Pittsburgh Penguins, who have two games in hand, and just one point ahead of the New York Islanders and three points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the suddenly competitive East.
"I wasn't happy with our first period," said Julien. "As much as it was just a 1-0 game, we needed to be a lot better than we had been. I really feel that had we been prepared to push in the first period the way we did in the second and third, we might have had a different outcome."
Really, it's perfectly indicative of the closely-packed NHL playoff field at this point that only the Kings and the Washington Capitals have secured postseason berths. Meanwhile, the rest of the league's hopefuls, including the Bruins, battle for points that could determine not just seeding, but whether or not they even make the playoff dance.
The Bruins, seemingly certain for a playoff spot not all that long ago, need to find a way to hold off the likes of the Penguins, Red Wings, Islanders and even the Philadelphia Flyers in order to ensure that they punch their ticket.
Saturday night's loss to the Kings wasn't a must-have game, but at this late date, just about every chance at two points could prove pivotal. Especially considering the Bruins now come out of their three-game California trip with zero points.
The Bruins finished that first period trailing only 1-0, but when L.A. stretched it to 2-0 early in the second and with the way Kings netminder Jonathan Quick was playing, it may as well have been a four-goal deficit. Four power plays between the second and third periods netted the Bruins zero points, despite strong puck movement and easy zone entries, thanks almost exclusively to Quick's otherworldly efforts. Quick finished the night with 27 truly impressive saves on 28 shots.
And that's got to be the most frustrating thing for fans of the black and gold after the Bruins' three-game west coast swing - the team played extremely well for stretches, pouring it on and playing like the game, and their season, was on the line.
But they also disappeared, sometimes for entire periods, failing to play strong on the puck and create consistent chances.
It's a Jekyll and Hyde routine that won't play well in the postseason, assuming at this point that the Bruins even make it.
