The Boston Bruins are hoping to regain their footing as they host the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. After consecutive losses, the Bruins are looking to clean up their defensive play and build momentum from their own goals. The team’s inconsistency has been a recurring issue this season, with 14 games where they’ve allowed five or more goals. 
Defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s return from injury was expected to provide a boost, but his first game back didn’t go as planned. The Winnipeg Jets scored four third-period goals to defeat the Bruins 6-2 on Thursday. “It’s just been like that this year,” McAvoy said of the team’s trend of goals piling up against them. “I feel like if we knew exactly what was wrong, we would have stopped it by now. We’ve just had a way of letting it compound.”
The Bruins’ inability to build momentum from their own goals has exacerbated the issue. After Elias Lindholm scored a game-tying goal early in the third period, the Jets struck twice to take a 4-2 lead and never looked back. Interim coach Joe Sacco emphasized the need for mental toughness, saying, “Momentum shifts during the course of the game are going to happen. We just have to find a way as a group to really be mentally strong.”
Captain Brad Marchand, who scored Boston’s first goal on Thursday, knows his team has no choice but to power through. “Obviously none of us are happy with the position we’re in, especially considering where we expected to be to start the year,” Marchand said. “But you can’t focus on that. You have to focus on being better for the next one.”
The Rangers, who are four points behind the Bruins in the playoff picture, are also looking to bounce back from consecutive losses. Coach Peter Laviolette’s group has been idle since Tuesday’s 4-0 shutout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite the recent setbacks, Laviolette remains optimistic, saying, “Head up, keep the confidence, keep the positivity, and just keep playing the way we have been and we’re going to have a good chance every night.”
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