Less than 24 hours later, the tale of the game tape offered a modicum of solace for Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. The start to his club’s 6-4 shellacking Tuesday night at the hands of the Maple Leafs wasn’t quite as bad as he first thought.
“Maybe the first 7-8 minutes of the game … I’ve always felt at home you want to try to push the pace early, try to put teams on their heels,” noted Cassidy. “I’m not saying we did that, but it was more of an even game than I had thought. The power play got us a goal, got us back in … but after that …”
After that, the deluge, an unraveling that led to one of the Bruins’ worst showings this season, particularly on home ice.
The Leafs popped in another pair in the first period, then three more in the second, leaving the Bruins down a four-spot (6-2) into the final 20 minutes and erasing any chance of their leapfrogging over Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
His club’s uncharacteristically messy night led Cassidy to say after the loss that lineup changes would be coming ahead of Thursday night’s visit by the Devils. If so, he’ll reveal those following the game-day workout, but it’s a good bet defenseman Connor Clifton will watch things from the ninth-floor press box.
Clifton botched a pass to Matt Grzelcyk that led to Toronto’s first goal, and messed up on the play that led to Alexander Kerfoot’s breakaway for the 3-1 lead. Standing at the point, Clifton one-timed a pass shuttled his way from Taylor Hall on the near half-wall. Kerfoot, the speedy ex-Harvard forward, blocked the shot, recovered the puck, and raced in alone to make the tuck by Jeremy Swayman.
Perhaps a bit of bad luck there? Not by Cassidy’s eye. The botched play, in fact, fit a broader, more concerning narrative regarding the continued struggle to wring more offense from the backline. There was a good offensive play for Clifton to make there, noted Cassidy, and it wasn’t to launch a rocket that Kerfoot caught.
“If you watch that play,” said Cassidy, “David Pastrnak is at the near post by himself; the [Leafs] haven’t recovered yet. So if he just gets it on the ice, by [Kerfoot], David’s got a chance in front for a tip.
“We’ve been preaching these in-the-shinpads shots for a long time around here. At some point, you know, it’s got to start happening for those defensemen at the O-zone blue line.”
If Cassidy gives Clifton the hook, it likely will trigger the Bruins debut of Josh Brown, the 6-foot-5-inch blue liner acquired from Ottawa. In turn, that could mean the return of Mike Reilly, a lineup scratch ever since the arrival of Hampus Lindholm from the Ducks.
Earlier in the week, Cassidy sounded inclined to drop in Reilly and Brown as a third-pairing tandem. If so, the logical move would be for them to sub in for Derek Forbort and Clifton.
The Clifton boo-boo was a prime example of the backline not taking advantage of an offensive opportunity. Worse, it turned into a gimme goal for the Leafs.
“This is one area — get the puck past the first layer [of defense],” he said. “I mean, that’s your first job. The first layer cannot block a shot. The second and third, if there’s a guy behind [Kerfoot], then, yes, sometimes it becomes harder to get it through.
“You’ve got to get it by the first layer. I’m not letting the player off the hook on that one. If your head’s up, you’ve got time, you’ve got to get it by him.”
Ullmark’s turn in net
Linus Ullmark, who subbed in for Swayman (25 shots/19 saves) after 40:00 vs. the Leafs, will be in net against the Devils. Ullmark has won three straight (Chicago, Winnipeg, Islanders), allowing six goals and turning back 70 of 76 shots (.921) … The six goals yielded by Swayman, the most he’s allowed since making his NHL debut a year ago, left him with a 2.20 goals-against mark and .920 save percentage for the season … The Bruins are 2-0-0 vs. the Devils, who edged the Canadiens, 3-2, Sunday in a shootout. The Devils are 5-9-0 for the month, including a three-game road swing through Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton in which they lost by identical 6-3 scores … Charlie McAvoy picked up a pair of assists in the loss to the Leafs, increasing his career-best total to 36. It could be a reach, but McAvoy has a chance at equaling Torey Krug’s career-best 47 assists in his time on the Boston backline … Pastrnak drilled home his 38th goal Tuesday, leaving him tied for sixth with Chicago’s Alex DeBrincat among the league’s sharpshooters. As of Wednesday morning, Pastrnak was second only to Alex Ovechkin for shots on net (293-292).
Hall is fined
The NHL fined Hall $5,000 for his hit (two minutes roughing) that left Toronto’s Ilya Lyubushkin bloodied along the wall in the second period. Lyubushkin had been hectoring Hall from behind, ignored by the referees, leading to Hall’s retaliatory smack … The Bruins will honor Tuukka Rask’s career prior to puck drop vs. the Devils. Rask, 35, finally called it quits in February, after a lengthy offseason rehab in the wake of hip surgery … Following Saturday night’s visit by the Blue Jackets, the Bruins will venture out on their final long road trip this season, with stops in Columbus, Detroit, Tampa, and D.C. … The Bruins added another Long Islander to their prospect pool, signing 6-foot-5-inch netminder Brandon Bussi as a free agent out of Western Michigan. Bussi, 23, just wrapped up his junior season at WMU, where he went 26-12-1. His deal, with an $825,000 NHL cap hit, kicks in next season, but he’ll report to AHL Providence and play out the season on an amateur tryout deal. Bussi grew up in the town of Sound Beach, N.Y., not far from the Long Beach McAvoy clan.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.