But the bottom line is that the Bruins lost in the shootout, 2-1. Mike Cammalleri, Montreal’s first gunner, fired a fast-moving snap shot past Tim Thomas. At the other end, Blake Wheeler, Bergeron, and Mark Recchi were foiled by Price.
“We look around and we see a lot of guys who can score goals,’’ Wheeler said. “All of a sudden, we’re going on nine periods with no goals.
“We’ve got to take that to heart. We’ve got to take that personally and look in the mirror. There are only so many times you can get stopped by a goalie before you can just put the puck in the net.
“There’s no two ways about it. I think it was great getting that goal there and pushing it to overtime and getting a point out of the game. It’s a great step in the right direction.’’
Last night, they dumped 43 pucks on Price, including 17 in the second period. They limited the Canadiens to 26 shots, with Thomas having to make only a handful of Grade-A stops.
But again, two ailments came back to bite the Bruins: their ab sent power play and their lack of finish around the net.
Three times, the Bruins went on the power play. Three times, they were turned aside. They haven’t scored a power-play goal in six games. And when your offense can’t hold down any kind of rhythm during even-strength action, having the league’s worst power play isn’t going to help you win hockey games.
“It’s confidence,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “The power play doesn’t have any more confidence than the five-on-five scoring goals right now. They’re squeezing the sticks. We’re trying to make them relax.’’
The only time the Bruins were able to solve Price came with Thomas pulled and an extra attacker on the ice in the final minute. Bergeron won an offensive-zone against Tomas Plekanec, Recchi gained control of the puck, and sent a pass out to point man Derek Morris. As Morris reached back to fire, Zdeno Chara went to the front of the crease to set a screen on Price. Bergeron drifted off to the edge of the left circle.
