Bruins lose to Senators, will face Maple Leafs in first round of playoffs

One of the big questions moving forward is who will get the starter’s net in Game 1. Ullmark has been very good since the trade deadline, but Jeremy Swayman posted two big wins over Toronto in their last two contests. Chances are, both will see some time.

“It’s a whole different beast. There’s a lot emotions,” said Ullmark, who like Swayman is still looking for his first series win. “Everything becomes more fun, so I’m very excited about what’s to come.”

Regarding Tuesday’s missed opportunity, the first period was scoreless, which was a good thing for the Bruins, who weren’t very good in the opening 20 minutes. The playing-out-the-string Senators held a 11-3 shot advantage, thanks in part to a pair of penalties from Marchand. Fortunately for the B’s, Ullmark was on top of his game early to send the game into the first intermission at 0-0. The only Bruin highlights were a post hit by Zacha and a thunderous Andrew Peeke hit on Thomas Chabot.

The B’s weren’t much better to start the second and, this time, Ullmark couldn’t bail them out as he gave up a pair of goals in 51 seconds midway through the period.

First, the B’s gave up an odd-man situation, with Erik Brannstrom feeding Jiri Smejkal on the left wing and Smejkal’s low wrister tickled through Ullmark’s pads and just over the line. It was originally waved off but a quick review showed that the puck did indeed cross the line by a couple of inches.

Then, at 10:54, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, pinching down from the left point, took a feed from Drake Batherson and, from about the same spot from where Smejkal scored, beat Ullmark.

With that, the B’s started to spend a little more time in the Ottawa zone and test goalie Anton Forsberg. But for the fifth straight period of hockey, the B’s put up a goose egg. Beyond that, they also hadn’t earned a power play in that time, which might have been more telling than the lack of goals.

As one might expect, the B’s dominated the third period and finally got a power play at 12:03. And at 12:44, the B’s got on the board. Kevin Shattenkirk, now manning the first power-play unit, threw a puck on net that was blocked in front but Zacha swooped in and beat Forsberg on the backhander.

Then at 13:29, Trent Frederic picked a loose puck out of Forsberg’s glove after the whistle, creating a scrum that led to a 4-on-4. With the open ice, Jake DeBrusk fed Charlie McAvoy on a 2-on-1 but Forsberg absolutely stoned him at 15:26.

But with 3:31 left in regulation, the B’s got another power play on a Shane Pinto hook and pulled Ullmark to make it a 6-on-4. But Pastrnak made an egregious cross-ice pass attempt that was picked off Zub and deposited into the empty. Game over.

Now the real games begin.