Bruins Fall 3-1 to Hurricanes, ‘We Have to Regroup as a Team’

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins did not have enough against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday at TD Garden.

​Following an emotional win in Montreal over the weekend, the B’s struggled to manufacture energy in their 3-1 loss.​

“Just a slow day today,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I could see it in their eyes – just mentally, physically not 100 percent, that is for sure.”

​Boston was also skating shorthanded. Regular veterans like Charlie McAvoy, Viktor Arvidsson and Elias Lindholm were all sidelined with injury, making room for Providence call-ups Riley Tufte and Matěj Blümel to make their season debut. It takes time, however, for things to seamlessly come together.​

“I thought we’ve had a great mentality of just next-man-up. Anyone that is in this lineup is going to do their job to a T. Really proud of the guys that have stepped in and played their role well,” said Jeremy Swayman, who made 29 saves. “It is a system that works, so with guys in the right spots, it is going to work. With reps, with games, shift after shift, you are going to get more and more chemistry within each other.”

​After a scoreless first period, the Hurricanes earned a 2-0 lead in the middle frame. Jordan Staal opened with a backhanded shot at 8:25 to make it 1-0 before Mark Jankowski widened the gap. The forward’s snapshot at 13:34 put the Hurricanes up 2-0.

“I just think we struggled to get out of our zone on the walls and through the neutral zone and didn’t get our forecheck going enough,” Alex Steeves said. “Because of that, we weren’t able to cycle pucks, get pucks to the net, stuff like that.”

A tally at 17:27 of the third period from former Bruin Taylor Hall made it 3-0, but the Bruins avoided being shutout when Tufte capitalized on a late power play. The 6-foot-6 forward worked for space around the crease and knocked in the rebound of Mikey Eyssimont’s initial shot. It marked Tufte’s first goal with Boston.

Tufte slotted on the fourth line with Eyssimont and Sean Kuraly, and logged 15:13 of total ice time, which included his goal, three shots and one hit. Tufte led Providence with eight goals before his call-up on Monday.

“We have to regroup as a team and be ready for the West Coast,” Tufte said. “Video is a big help to us, especially the guys who just got called up, because the systems, for the most part, are the same. But some stuff there are little tweaks in there. Just trying to get on the right page and talk with your linemates before the game.”

The Bruins now start a four-game road trip with matchups against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders.

​“We’re confident going into this road trip knowing that everyone wearing the Black & Gold is going to give us a chance to win every night,” Swayman said.