Bruins lose to Senators, finish 2nd in Atlantic | NHL.com
Instead, the Bruins finished second in the division after the Florida Panthers moved one point ahead of them with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs later on Tuesday. Boston will play Toronto, which will finish third in the division, in the Eastern Conference First Round.
“Regardless of how it went and how we played in any of the periods, come playoff time, there’s so much excitement and adrenaline,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “Guys are so dialed in that it would’ve been nice if we played better tonight, but at the end of the day, we have all week to prepare and we’ll be excited to get going.”
Pavel Zacha scored, and Linus Ullmark made 17 saves for Boston (47-20-15), which lost three of its final four regular-season games.
“I don’t know [if I’m] disappointed in it, but I do like the fact that we got better every period,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “And the third period was a good brand of hockey.”
Jiri Smejkal scored his first NHL goal, and Anton Forsberg made 34 saves for Ottawa (37-41-4), which won three of its final four games.
“We kept them in check pretty good,” Senators coach Jacques Martin said. “We played like four lines, and I thought we did a good job in the third period. They came on, our goalie was the difference. Made some big saves, and it’s great to finish, I think, with a win for the guys.”
