The Quick Take: Bruins Played a Sloppy Game With Weak Performances Galore in Loss to the Flyers

The quick take of last night's game was one of errors. The Bruins in general played a sloppy game with turnovers, weak neutral zone play, and D coverage that led to the Flyers taking advantage on the scoreboard. Credit to the Flyers for making the Bruins pay. A  few players had really rough nights. Forbort looked lost and slow, Clifton was indecisive and poor positionally and Reilly made numerous gaffs, the biggest one creating the go-ahead goal in the 3rd. Add that in with Swayman having his worst outing in net since his start in Boston and the result, 6-3 loss. The forwards were not much better, often forcing plays and really not generating enough top-notch scoring plays even with 40 shots. 

Bruins PP: The powerplay unit only had one chance last night and by in large was ineffective. Over passing and not taking a shot when it was there was an issue. they looked rusty and the time off once again between games did them no favors. I'm still not convinced Hall is the right fir for the top unit but will see . Too early to tell right now. Grade: F 

Bruins PK: Although 2 goals were allowed, one was an empty net with a minute to go. But the PK wasn't sharp when they allowed a goal on the Flyer's first outing on the PP. Coverage was blown and the points were given easy access to shooting lanes. Grade: F

3 Stars of the Game: 1st Star: Brad Marchand. Again Brad came to play and make some crazy plays. Rarely does he have an off night and was the best forward for the Bruins again. 2nd Star. Charlie McAvoy was skating, hitting, and driving the play. He had 2 assists on the night and wasn't a liability in his own zone as usual. 3rd Star Matt Grezlcyk showed what an excellent skater and D man he is getting the puck out of the zone. 

Last Thoughts: Cassidy was not pleased in the presser and rightfully so. The team was loose and sloppy. Swayman failed to make that big save, was leaky and didn't seem to be tracking the puck well. He is still a rookie and bad games are going to happen. His D did him no favors as well. The next start will be a key for him to show if he can put to bed a bad outing and start fresh.  So Bruins need to tighten up and fix the D that looked a bit lost. The long breaks between playing are never good. So off to Buffalo next and hopefully a better result. Go, Bruins!