Boston fell to 0-4-0 on the road trip.
The undermanned Boston Bruins absorbed their seventh straight loss Wednesday night, getting thrashed, 6-2, by the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center.
It was the 13th time this season the Bruins have allowed at least six goals in a game.
“A little bit of disconnection, and that explains the score,” David Pastrnak told reporters after the loss, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “We felt disconnection, and every goal was started in the (offensive) zone. You know, we lost the puck or unforced mistakes, and then we are defending.
“We talked about getting more shots after two periods. We had nine shots against them. Tough, tough game.”
Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco was a bit more blunt in the area Boston needs to improve if the team intends to end its losing skid.
“The commitment to our checking game, that’s the bottom line,” Sacco told Andy Brickley on NESN’s postgame. “Our play away from the puck, I know we’re not scoring goals, but you’re not going to win in this league when you give up five, six goals a night. It’s impossible until we get more of a commitment to our checking game, manage the puck better. We understand the situation (we’re in), but there’s still no excuse for giving up easy offense like that.”
Here are more notes from Wednesday night’s Bruins-Ducks game:
— With the Ducks holding a 2-0 lead, Pastrnak recorded his 35th goal of the season in the second period to pull the Bruins within a goal. The power-play goal secured the fourth consecutive season with at least 35 goals.
— Morgan Geekie scored the only other Bruins goal in the loss. It was his 26th goal of the season.
— Nikita Zadorov flew back to Boston for a family matter that was not disclosed by the team. It was the first game Zadorov had missed all season, dashing the hopes of a full 82-game season for a Bruins defenseman during this campaign.
Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm have each played in all 73 games for the Bruins this season.
— The seven-game losing streak is the longest since the Bruins lost eight consecutive contests from March 23 to April 8 in the 1999-2000 season.
— The Bruins are 0-4-0 on the five-game road trip. They will look to snap the skid when they face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Puck drop from Little Caesars Arena is scheduled at 8 p.m. ET and will air on ABC.
Bruins Get Painful Reality Check on Wednesday Night
The Boston Bruins entered Wednesday night’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks sitting five spots out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position. With just 69 points through 72 games, they'll likely miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 NHL season.
This decline was somewhat expected given Boston’s approach at the trade deadline. Once sitting third in the Atlantic Division on Jan. 1, Joe Sacco's Bruins stumbled out of a playoff spot by the deadline, prompting general manager Don Sweeney to essentially wave the white flag on this season and the near future.
Sweeney dealt key players, including Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche, Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild, and Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers.
With expectations at near rock bottom, the Bruins are now underdogs against an Anaheim team that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017-18 season and won’t be in the mix again this year.
Also, according to StatMuse, the Ducks have been underdogs in 66 of the 70 games they've played this season.
It’s a painful reality check for Bruins fans on how good they've had it for years.