After ugly loss, Bruins seek rebound vs. Flames

The Boston Bruins look to rebound from their worst loss of the season when they return home to face the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

The league-leading Bruins enter off a 9-3 rout by the Canucks on Saturday that snapped a five-game winning streak. The setback in Vancouver marked the end of a four-game road swing for Boston, which including a 4-3 victory over Calgary on Friday.

The Flames have won three of their last five, including a 4-2 triumph over the Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday to kick off a five-game road trip.

The Bruins have won five of their last six meetings against the Flames, with Tuesday's contest marking the end of their season series. In Friday's Boston win, Patrice Bergeron scored twice during a six-goal first period between the teams, and Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves in net.

Halak likely didn't expect to be needed again Sunday, but that was the case in the third period after Tuukka Rask allowed his sixth goal to the Canucks on 27 shots. Rask entered the game having not allowed more than two goals in an outing since Dec. 23.

"It's one of those 'when it rains, it pours' type of things," Rask said. "It doesn't matter if it's 2-1 or 9-3 or 15-3 -- it's a loss. You move on and try to keep it tight next game. I think that's the only way to try and approach it."

Rask has been his tightest at home this season, where he's 14-0-6. In his career, he's 6-1-3 with a 1.82 goals-against average against the Flames.

On the plus side for Boston, David Pastrnak extended his league lead to 45 goals with two in the loss to Vancouver. Pastrnak has seven goals and six assists in his last eight games.

"We're not going to beat ourselves up over this loss," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said on Saturday night. "We'll get back to work on Monday, get ready for Calgary."

The Flames narrowly hold one of the two wild cards in the Western Conference, though a 7-8-1 stretch since Jan. 11 has seen the team fail to win more than two games in a row. After Friday's loss to Boston, Calgary bounced back in Detroit on the strength of a pair of Andrew Mangiapane goals.

"It sets us up good," Mangiapane said. "Obviously you've got to focus, one game at a time, and just take care of business that night. You can't think too far ahead. We celebrate tonight, and then we focus for the next game."

After Boston, the Flames play at the Nashville Predators on Thursday before ending their trip with a back-to-back at the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

"Everyone knows where we stand and where all the other teams stand," Calgary defenseman Noah Hanifin said. "It's a hunt, it's tight, things are changing every day, but we've just got to focus on what we can control."

Mikael Backlund scored twice for the Flames in Friday's loss to the Bruins. Cam Talbot stopped 19 shots.

The Flames made three moves before Monday's trade deadline, adding defensemen Erik Gustafsson from the Blackhawks and Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings while sending defenseman Brandon Davidson to San Jose.

The Bruins acquired a player from Anaheim for the second time in four days, adding forward Nick Ritchie in a swap for forward Danton Heinen.

--Field Level Media