Practice Report: Bruins Regroup, Get Ready for Game 5 in Buffalo

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins did not sugarcoat anything.

The team dropped Game 4 to the Buffalo Sabres 6-1 on Sunday at TD Garden and now trails the first-round series 3-1. Monday’s ensuing practice at Warrior Ice Arena was loud. The B’s are getting back to their standard.

“Guys were embarrassed yesterday about our performance, especially at home. Today they came in, and they were pissed. You could see it in practice – it was intense,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “We need it to be intense because we can’t have it loose. We have a one-game mission, and that’s just going to be tomorrow.”

Boston will skate in Game 5 on Tuesday night at KeyBank Center, with its postseason life on the line.

“Obviously, we are not happy with what happened. At the same time, one game, have to learn from it and flush it and move on,” Casey Mittelstadt said. “The next one is the biggest one. That’s the thing about playoffs – sometimes you get beat down, but you can always come back. We have a big game coming up here.”

Mittelstadt has been on the second line with Viktor Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha all season. However, Arvidsson left Sunday’s matchup with an upper-body injury and did not return. Arvidsson did not participate in Monday’s practice due to maintenance, Sturm said. Mikey Eyssimont filled in on the right wing, but Sturm said not to read into it.

Nikita Zadorov was also out due to maintenance; Mason Lohrei slotted onto the third pair with Andrew Peeke.

“Don’t look at the lines today. It’s going to be different tomorrow…I need more time with the decision of lineup,” Sturm said. “There will be definitely some changes tomorrow. Today, there were different areas that were more important than just lines.”

Mittelstadt is prepared to adjust if need be.​

“It’s obviously a big loss for us. He’s been a big part of our team, especially down the stretch, made a lot of big plays and scored a lot of big goals for us,” Mittelstadt said of Arvidsson. “I don’t think one guy can do it. But we’ll do it by committee. Everyone on this team brings a different thing.”

Jeremy Swayman led the Bruins in hitting the reset button on Monday. The goaltender made 23 saves on 29 shots before Joonas Korpisalo finished out Game 4, making six stops.

“We win as a team, we lose as a team. Everyone in here has a standard that we know we’re capable of,” Swayman said. “We know we have a job to do. We know we can compete at an extremely high level, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

It is a one-game-at-a-time mindset for the Bruins now. Their full focus is on getting a win in Game 5 and swinging the series back to Boston.

“It’s just another game. Another day at the office. We’re so lucky to be in this position that we are in. Embracing that at a young age, and an old age, is a privilege,” Swayman said. “We worked our [butts] off to get here, and we’re not going to let that slip because of anxieties or different kinds of mental disconnects. It’s an incredible opportunity, incredible privilege, and we should be embracing it with open arms.”