PHILADELPHIA – Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk each scored goals but the Boston Bruins lost a key road game to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
Boston back-up goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman made his third straight start and stopped 20 shots in the loss. No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask could return today (April 11).
Not only did the Bruins lose the game but they also saw one of their top defenseman go down with an injury in the first period of play.
Cassidy said the loss of defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to what the team simply listed as an upper-body injury in the first period likely contributed to the Bruins’ limitations. The 27-year- old was playing on the top pairing for the Bruins battered defensive corp, already depleted by injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. Grzelcyk is listed as day-to-day.
“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.”
Boston went 0 for 4 on the power play, including two missed opportunities in the third period as the Bruins attempted to tie the game.
Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier scored near the midway point of the third period to break a tie and the Flyers picked up a critical 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Flyers goalkeeper Brian Elliott stopped 30 shots for Philadelphia, which moved within four points of Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NHL’s East Division. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Flyers with Philadelphia having 16 games remaining. The two teams have completed their regular-season series.
Boston plays divisional rival Washington today.