Bruins Drop Road Trip Finale in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA - Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk scored but the Bruins dropped their road trip finale against the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center. Jeremy Swayman made his third straight start and stopped 20 shots in the loss, the first of his NHL career.
"I liked their effort," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of his club, who surrendered the winner to Sean Couturier at 6:59 of the third. "Obviously, [the Flyers] have a lot to play for - every team does this time of year that's still in the mix. That certainly has something to do with it. We had a few breakdowns that they converted on. We didn't give up a whole lot. The goals they scored, can't fault Swayman.
"Pucks went through some of our D on those, hope they'd be able to put out the fire on those and maybe finish a play on the other end, especially on the power play. They got one and we didn't.
"Some of the games we've won against them, special teams were the difference in our favor, tonight it was their favor."

Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play, including two missed opportunities in the third period as the B's pushed to tie the game. Cassidy said the loss of Matt Grzelcyk to an upper-body injury in the first period likely contributed to some of the B's issues on the man advantage.
"We lost another defenseman early; it's happened to us a lot this year," said Cassidy. "You're leaning on other guys, a guy we rely on in Grizz - power play situations, we saw the effect of that."

Swayman Gets Nod

Swayman was given the option to take the day off after the sudden passing of his former coach at the University of Maine, Red Gendron, who died on Friday at the age of 63. The young netminder decided to play on and made his third straight start between the pipes.
"Tough day. Our thoughts are with his family and with Sway…the hockey world is a little less fortunate today,"" said Cassidy, who noted that Gendron also had a relationship with Bruins assistant coaches Kevin Dean and Jay Pandolfo from their time together with the New Jersey Devils.
"We gave Jeremy the option, said, 'Listen, if mentally you need a day, that's more important than a start, we'll put Vladdy in and sort out Sunday on Sunday."
Daniel Vladar is likely to get the start on Sunday night against the Washington Capitals. Tuukka Rask skated on Friday and is targeting a return for some time next week.
"[Rask] a good practice with the main group [on Friday], progressing well," said Cassidy. "Was off ice today. Will skate [on Sunday]. My guess is we target next week's games."

DeBrusk Breaks Through

Jake DeBrusk potted his first goal in four games since returning from his bout with COVID-19. The winger - who last scored in Boston's win over Buffalo on March 18, the last before the team's COVID pause - took a slick behind-the-back feed from Craig Smith and whacked home a one-timer from close range to tie the game, 2-2, at 11:45 of the second.
"My legs were there, my energy. This was the first game I've had after a practice," DeBrusk said, mentioning the difficulties of the B's condensed schedule. "This was one of the games I've felt recovered. Trying to get back to game pace.
"I just got in the soup, tried to get to a soft area for a high tip originally. Puck was coming, just went down and shot it."

Smith Stays Hot

Smith, who once again rode alongside Bergeron and Brad Marchand on Boston's top line, picked up two assists on the day, giving him 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his last 11 games. The first helper was a quick shovel feed over to Bergeron in the slot for a 1-0 Bruins' advantage at 5:38 of the first period, while the second was a beautiful no-look dish to DeBrusk on tic-tac-toe play with Charlie Coyle.
"It's just how plays develop," Smith said of his uptick in production, particularly assists. "I like playing with these guys, they're world-class players. It's definitely made it easy out there. It's a lot of fun."

McAvoy Skating

Charlie McAvoy, out the last three games with an upper-body injury, is not expected to be available for Sunday night. The blue liner has, however, been back skating in Boston and could return on Tuesday night.
Without McAvoy, Brandon Carlo (upper body), and likely Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller (maintenance), Boston's defense corps could look quite young on Sunday night.
"They should be fresh, should have good energy," Cassidy said of Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril. "It will be our fifth game this week. It will be a tough ask [on Sunday], but some other guys will be going into the lineup, whether that's [Jarred] Tinordi or [Jack] Achan if need be.
"We'll have to talk about that, who's available [on Sunday]. Those guys get their opportunity and that's the glass half-full side of it, is other guys get an opportunity to go in and help us win."