‘If we’re not f—ing embarrassed, I don’t know what to say’: McAvoy on Bruins’ Game 4 blowout loss to Sabres
Game 4 of their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres did not go according to plan for the Boston Bruins.
Down 2-1 in the series after dropping the first game on home ice at TD Garden, the Bruins laid an egg on Sunday, as the Sabres quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes before expanding that advantage to 6-0 early in the second period.
“If, man-to-man in here, if we’re not fucking embarrassed with what just happened, then I don’t know what to say,” defenseman Charlie McAvoy said in his postgame comments to the media. “It’s not over after three games, so we have everything to play for here, and we know we’re such a better team than what we did.
There was plenty of reason for embarrassment in Boston’s locker room, and it showed in the team’s body language all game. Whether it was having zero reason to celebrate Sean Kuraly’s goal that broke Alex Lyon’s shutout bid with under a minute remaining or the apparent talking-to that goalie Jeremy Swayman gave to his team’s bench when he was pulled.
Jeremy Swayman had some WORDS for the Bruins bench after being pulled 😳
Now, after falling short in Game 3 and no-showing Game 4, the Bruins are heading back to Buffalo and facing elimination in front of what promises to be a raucous atmosphere.
It’s a disappointing turn to a series that started off in promising fashion for Boston. The Bruins largely dominated Game 1 before giving away the lead late, but they bounced back tremendously in Game 2 to steal home ice advantage.
They had dominated 100 of the 120 minutes between the first two games, but the Sabres were able to flip the script on them at TD Garden.
Even after Sunday’s debacle, Swayman still owns a .900 save percentage for the series, so he’s mostly done his part, but pushing this series past five games will require a much stronger effort from the team in front of him.
Game 5 from KeyBank Center is set for a 7:30 PM EST puck drop on Tuesday night.