Marco Sturm didn't bother sugarcoating it. The Bruins coach stood at the podium Sunday night and called his team's 6-1 loss to Buffalo what it was: embarrassing.
"We should be embarrassed because it was embarrassing," Sturm said. "I am embarrassed. And we all should be. And we're all pissed."
Then came the line that tells you where Boston actually stands.
"As far as I know, you have to win four games to move on. So they got three."
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So that means we still have a chance, Sturm added. A chance. That's the bar now.
Charlie McAvoy went further. The veteran defenceman stared down a room of teammates after the game and didn't dress it up either.
"Man to man in here, if we're not embarrassed with what just happened, then I don't know what to say."
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Jeremy Swayman pulled as Bruins lose composure and Game 4
Jeremy Swayman got the hook. The $8.25 million goalie was carrying a .930 save percentage through three playoff games of this series. Sunday he didn't get to finish a fourth.
Joonas Korpisalo, who posted a .894 mark across 31 starts in the regular season, finished the night in net. That's the depth chart Boston is leaning on now.
Nikita Zadorov made it worse late in the game. A cross-check on Rasmus Dahlin between play, a snapped stick, a follow-up punch. Five-minute major and a likely call from Player Safety.
Why is a $5 million top-four blueliner taking runs at the opponent's best defenceman after the whistle? Because everyone in white was already broken.
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David Pastrnak has 5 points through 3 playoff games but went minus-3 against Buffalo. The numbers say he's producing. The film says he's chasing.
The 45-27-10 regular season got Boston into the dance. None of that record matters now. Game 5 is in Buffalo, and Lindy Ruff's group has every reason to push the pace.
The Sabres ran the Atlantic at 50-23-9. Dahlin alone put up 74 points and went plus-18. Rolling four lines against a tilted Boston room is the easiest job left.
Sturm has to find an answer he hasn't shown yet. And maybe a defenceman to replace the one heading to a hearing.
Are the Bruins finished in this series?
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