The Bruins had a golden opportunity to secure the Northeast Division crown and No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but they flat-out blew it, losing 4-2 to the Senators Sunday at TD Garden. Instead, Boston (28-14-6) gets the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Toronto (26-17-5) in a first-round playoff series that will likely begin on Wednesday.
Ottawa (25-17-6) scored first as Erik Condra swept in a Tuukka Rask (18 saves; 19-10-5) rebound at 16:59 of the first period. When the Senators made it 2-0 on Jared Cowen’s first goal of the season at 10:33 of the second period, it felt like it was over since the B’s have scored just two goals in seven of their last eight games and less than three goals in eight of their last nine games.
However, the Bruins rallied as Rich Peverley notched a power-play goal with three seconds left in the second period then Dennis Seidenberg tied it at two 14 seconds into the third period. All the playoff scenarios went out the window as Jean-Gabriel Pageau potted the game-winner at 16:26 on another juicy rebound and Kyle Turris’ empty-netter ensured that Boston vs. Toronto was set in stone.
Milan Lucic (1 assist, 1 fight vs. Chris Neil) had another solid game (his third in a row) which bodes well for Boston’s playoff hopes. Maybe he can help the Bruins solve some of their scoring woes. Keep in mind that Jaromir Jagr (flu) and Nathan Horton (upper body) were both scratches tonight. Jagr should be fine for Game 1 vs. Leafs, but the status of Horton going forward is less-than-certain.
Follow Metro Boston Bruins beat writer Richard Slate on Twitter @RichSlate
