Savard cannot connect
His post problems are not ironed out
Marc Savard did everything he could to win last night's game against the Maple Leafs. Centering the Bruins' top line between Marco Sturm and Phil Kessel, and taking the lead on special teams, he spent 23 minutes 26 seconds on the ice. Only defensemen Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman played more for Boston.
Savard is the Bruins' leading scorer (11-38 -49), and with the lineup hit hard by injuries, he knows he has to be the one to come through. In fact, in two of the Bruins' last three wins, Savard has scored the winning goal.
Last night, in his first game since being added to the Eastern Conference team for the All-Star Game Jan. 27, Savard played like an All-Star, but the Maple Leafs won, 3-2, in a shootout.
Savard was credited with three shots, not including the two that rang off posts in the third period, nor his shootout attempt that was poked away by goalie Vesa Toskala.
Savard helped set up both goals as the Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the first period, but the next two periods and overtime proved frustrating. Savard fought hard to get in position, and crisscrossed the offensive zone with Kessel and Sturm, but each time the trio threatened, their shots sailed wide, or over the net, or were deflected.
"For sure, it's frustrating; I hit two posts in the third period," said Savard, who had his 10th multiple-point game of the season.
"The first one, I thought it was in for sure. I thought we outplayed them. In overtime, we definitely had the better chances."
Savard shook his head and sighed. "It's tough," he said. "I wanted the 2 points because it's a tough series coming up with the Rangers [this weekend]."
Coach Claude Julien wasn't pointing fingers, despite losing to a team that had dropped five of its last six. Julien knows that with so many players sidelined and five rookies on the ice, his team is going to need some breaks.
"I thought we tried, I thought we battled," Julien said. "With a little bit of luck, it's a different outcome."
Julien gave his "young guys" credit for playing well and for bringing energy to the game, but he knows it's veterans like Savard who must push the team along at least until some of the injured players return.
"Sometimes you want the veterans to elevate their games, too, make up for the loss of other veterans," Julien said. "That's when they have to be at their best and that's something I still feel that there are some players on this team who could give us a little bit more to elevate their game and help us ease the situation. It's just about pushing our players to be better. It's not a critique, more just a situation; you need, in desperation, more out of your players."
Veterans got the Bruins started, as Chara scored off a rebound to tie the game, 1-1, at 14:27, and Sturm tallied his 14th of the season when he put away a quick pass from Savard in the goal mouth a minute and a half later.
Toronto broke up a number of breakouts in the neutral zone in the second, then tied the game in the closing seconds of the period. And though the Bruins kept squeezing off shots, they couldn't get another score. For Savard, it was a difficult night to come up empty.
"The best players have to be the best players this time of year," he said, still shaking his head. "I thought our second was even and that in the third we outplayed them. We had better chances, had pucks down low, and we hit three posts. In the third, we didn't bury our chances. We're battling. We're giving it everything we have. Hopefully, everyone noticed that."
Barbara Matson can be reached at matson@globe.com. 