Halfway through March, only 15 games remain in the 2025-26 season for the Boston Bruins. Points are at a premium every single night out in a compacted Eastern Conference playoff race. On Monday night, there was no excuse not to leave Newark, New Jersey, with two points against the struggling New Jersey Devils.
Things started well with the Black and Gold grabbing a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes, thanks to goals from David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. Joonas Korpisalo turned back everything the Devils threw at him in the first period. Early in the second period, things began to slowly come off the rails, and it all added up to a frustrating 4-3 overtime loss. After the game, head coach Marco Sturm wasn't happy with how things turned out.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm didn't beat around the bush about Bruins overtime loss to Devils
For as well as they played in the first period, the second period was a disaster. Turnovers led to a pair of Devils' goals, and Charlie McAvoy had one of the turnovers. Boston allowed 17 second-period shots, which is not how they want to play. They fell into New Jersey's style and paid for it.
"Frustrating because we played such a good first period. The way we came out in the second and the way we played in the second, that for me is night and day. If you play like that, that's what you get," said Sturm. "That second period really bothered me. Got to learn from it."
Allowing 17 shots is what Sturm would like to see in a game, never mind one period. New Jersey took a lead in the third period, but the Black and Gold responded with Pastrnak's second goal of the game to pull even. Boston would end up losing in overtime with 6.2 seconds left, and they left a massive point on the table. It's games like this that could end up costing the Bruins a playoff spot next month when the dust settles.