Captain Brad Marchand calls out Boston Bruins' repetitive mistakes after third straight loss

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Nov 19, 2024 05:05 GMT

Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins suffered their third straight loss on Monday, falling 5-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden.

Charlie Coyle’s power-play goal ended his scoring drought since early November, but it wasn’t enough, as defensive mistakes and two short-handed goals by Columbus left Boston reeling. With the loss extending the Bruins’ winless streak to three games, captain Brad Marchand shared his thoughts on the team’s struggles.

The Boston Bruins entered the season with high expectations but have stuttered to a 8-9-3 record. Marchand pointed out the team’s repeated mistakes, saying that improvement is impossible without fixing those issues.

“It’s not acceptable to have the same mistakes and same things over and over,” Marchand said in the postgame press conference.

He also expressed concern over the team’s lack of consistency and focus, which he believes has led to an identity crisis.

"It starts with our compete level. We have it throughout periods, but then we have other moments where we think we’re a skill team and that’s not us. We have to understand our identity,” Marchand added.

Struggles with the power play and defensive errors stood out as key issues for the Boston Bruins.

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Jim Montgomery stresses improvement after Boston Bruins' loss to Blue Jackets

Columbus (7-9-2) earned its second win in three games by killing penalties well and capitalizing on Boston's mistakes.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery acknowledged the team's frustrations but remained optimistic, emphasizing the need to stay focused and keep improving.

“We just keep building,” Montgomery said (via NHL.com). “We just keep demanding that we get to the level that we need to get to.”

Dmitri Voronkov scored early in the first period on a breakaway after Brandon Carlo's mistake. Minutes later, Mathieu Olivier made it 2-0 with a short-handed backhand goal. James van Riemsdyk added a third, deflecting Zach Werenski's shot past Jeremy Swayman before the intermission.

Charlie Coyle scored a power-play goal in the second period for Boston, but Columbus responded. Justin Danforth scored a short-handed tap-in, and Yegor Chinakhov added a late one-timer, while Elvis Merzlikins made 29 saves for Columbus.

The Boston Bruins next face the Utah Hockey Club (7-7-3, 3-4-2 on the road) on Thursday at 7 p.m. EST.