Marco Sturm Explains Why He Gives Bruins ‘Credit’ After Shootout Loss

The Boston Bruins suffered a 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on the road on Wednesday.

Boston was coming off a shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series game on Sunday. Against Florida, the Bruins led 2-1 before the Panthers scored all three goals in the second period to take a 4-2 lead into the third.

Yet, in the third period, Boston rallied to tie the game, but it was Brad Marchand who scored the shootout winner. It was a disappointing loss for Boston, but head coach Marco Sturm is pleased with how his team played to at least get a point.

“They are big points,” Sturm said on Wednesday, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I’m not going to lie, it has been a grind. Unfortunately, we came up short twice on the shootout, and we need to get better at that. You might need them.

“Going to Florida isn’t an easy trip; you get the Stanley Cup champions here, Tampa Bay is the hottest team in the League. We survived. I give my guys a lot of credit.”

Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt, who scored in the loss, was happy the team was able to at least get a point after being down two goals going into the third period.

“We found ourselves in a little bit of a hole, but we have proven all year we are going to fight until the final horn blows,” Mittelstadt said. “It was huge to get a point there. Pretty salty we didn’t get the other one. But it was a good third period, especially to get a point.”

With the loss, Boston fell to 32-20-5 and is holding onto the final wild card spot. The Bruins won’t return to the ice until Feb. 26, when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets after the Olympic break.