At one point this season they had hope of making a run toward Lord Stanley. Now, that dream seems a mile away as the Boston Bruins lost their 10th straight game in a 3-2 shoot-out loss to the Vancouver Canucks Saturday afternoon.
The Canucks' come-from-behind victory marks back-to-back games the Bruins have squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in a shoot-out, and third in the last four games. The Montreal Canadiens downed the Bruins in similar fashion Thursday night while the Los Angeles Kings did so one week ago.
After Zdeno Chara and Michael Ryder both tallied to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead, Mason Raymond got one back in the second period before Pavol Demitra notched the tying goal with under five minutes remaining in the third.
Demitra was the eventual hero as he scored the lone goal in the shoot-out to give the Canucks the win after Blake Wheeler, David Krejci and Marc Savard failed to beat Roberto Luongo. Kyle Wellwood also shot for Vancouver but watched his deflect off the crossbar behind Bruins' goalie Tuukka Rask.
The loss marked the Bruins' ninth straight defeat on home ice - the second longest streak in team history.
To make matters worse for the Bs, defenseman Johnny Boychuk was escorted off the ice after taking a point slapshot from Mikael Samuelsson in the face during the first period. Coach Claude Julien told reporters after the game Boychuk was taken to a local hospital being examined and would not travel with the team on its road trip which includes stops in Montreal (Sunday), Buffalo (Tuesday), Tampa Bay (Thursday) and Florida (Saturday).
While the bottom three spots in the Eastern Conference's playoff race are up for grabs, the Bruins seem to be doing anything and everything they can to not have a chance at making the post-season. After once holding down the fifth seed, Boston currently sits in a tie for 11th with the Atlanta Thrashers. Only the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs have less points in the east.
For the Boston faithful there is a shining light at the end of the tunnel as the more games the Bruins lose the better their pick will be in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Already holding the Maple Leafs' first round pick, which could turn out to be a top three pick by the end of the year, the Bruins could end up with two top five picks in what is stated to be a very talented draft class.
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