Written by Kevin Paul Dupont at Boston Globe
The margins were thin, again, the difference was a goal, again, and once more the Bruins were the ones on the wrong side of it all. Even worse, they were offside on the one play that counted most, which negated their lone goal of the night.
So, after 86 games in the 2016-17 season, following their 1-0 loss to the Senators Wednesday night at the Garden, the Bruins are now left with no margin for error. Their season is down to zero.
Bobby Ryan, with but one goal over the final 13 games of the regular season, scored with 5:49 gone in the third period, handing the Senators the 1-0 victory and a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. It was Ryan’s series-leading third goal, and it came on a second effort, a knock-in from near the left post after Tuukka Rask (26 saves) made the initial stop following Erik Karlsson’s (him again) slap pass down from the high slot.
“More pucks on net, and more rebounds, I think,” noted veteran center Patrice Bergeron, thinking what could get his team out of its funk. “We’re having some good looks, but too many are just one and done.”
Game 5, possibly Boston’s final game of the season, will be Friday night at the Canadian Tire Centre. If the Bruins win there, Game 6 will be back at the Garden on Sunday. But for that to happen, they’ll have to get over their perpetual “one-and-dones” and find a way to provide consistent pressure and valid follow-up chances on Craig Anderson (22 saves for the shutout).
All four games of the series have been settled by a goal. The Bruins squeezed out a 2-1 win in the opener, then followed with a pair of 4-3 losses in OT, then couldn’t put one by Anderson with a chance to pull even in the series.
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