Interim coach Joe Sacco shared his thoughts after the Boston Bruins' disappointing 4-0 shutout defeat against the Edmonton Oilers at home on Tuesday.
The defeat marked the Bruins' sixth loss in their last seven games and their fifth consecutive defeat since the holiday break, during which they have only managed to earn a single point in the standings.
The frustration among the home crowd was evident as they reached a boiling point with chants of "Fire Sweeney" echoing throughout TD Garden. Sacco highlighted the urgent need for the team to elevate their game.
He acknowledged that the Bruins had previously played well against the league's top teams, but that wasn't the case against the Oilers.
"I just think we have to find some solutions right now. I think that we've shown in Edmonton that we played well enough to beat them. We played against some of the top teams in the league, and we've played well. That was not the case tonight," Sacco said postgame.
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"They were certainly playing at a higher level than we were, right from the drop of the puck. They won the majority of races to pucks. They were quicker to us. They won more one on one battles. So you know, we pretty much got what we deserved here tonight because of the way we played," he added.
With another loss, the Boston Bruins (20-18-5) trail the Atlantic Division topper Toronto Maple Leafs (27-13-2) by 11 points. The Bruins travel to Amalie Arena to face the Tampa Bay Lightning next on Thursday. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Stuart Skinner shines as Edmonton Oilers shutout Boston Bruins
On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins hosted the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden. They suffered a disappointing 4-0 shutout defeat to the Oilers, who won their fourth straight.
Adam Henrique opened the scoring for the Oilers, giving them a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot goal at 6:33 of the first period. This was the lone goal scored in that period.
Coming into the second period, Connor McDavid increased the visitors' lead to 2-0 by scoring on the power play at 11:11. With less than four minutes remaining in the period, Henrique netted his second goal of the night, extending the lead to 3-0 for the Oilers.
At 16:25 of the third period, Viktor Arvidsson scored into an empty net, sealing a 4-0 victory for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner starred for the Oilers after making 26 saves on the night to ensure Edmonton earned their shutout win.