The Bruins found themselves down 5-0 late in the second period to their biggest rival before Casey Mittelstadt rattled off two goals. They outattempted and outshot the Canadiens, but by the time the Bruins started to connect, the damage had already been done. After a loss like that one, the message in the room is simple, and Marco Sturm does not necessarily have to be the one to deliver it. 

“Our practice today was video,” Sturm said after the Bruins skated. “We touched on a few things, areas where we have to get better. But in general, the message today was by video. So I just want to make it very clear to the guys how the game went yesterday. I think it’s how we have to get better.” 

“Every day is different. It was just a disappointing loss we had yesterday. I think they played the way we usually play, and how we frustrate teams, and now we are on the other side,” Sturm added. “So I give Montreal a lot of credit. … It’s almost like we were falling in the trap and really couldn’t get out of it.” 

Sturm also pulled aside the younger group of players to pass down pointers from his playing days. Fortunately for the Bruins, the turnaround is quick, and as cliché as it is, having a short memory is essential for moving on. 

“It starts with our young guys. We had a meeting with them today. I think it was really good. Those are one of the games you have to learn from it, too. Even as a young guy, you know, playing a big rivalry game, and division game, and they were just willing to do everything they can, and we didn’t,” Sturm said. “I’m not gonna blame them. It’s just more like the energy and how you prepare for those kind of games. So it was good to go through games like that. Unfortunately, we came up with a loss, but there was a lot of things, I think, it’s gonna help us in the future.” 

The Bruins have gotten eight goals from defensemen this season, but the offensive production has slowed down considerably. Six of those goals came in the first eight games, with just two coming in the last 11. Mason Lohrei, with three, still leads Bruins defensemen in goals, and Charlie McAvoy’s nine points (1-8–9) are the most from the blue line. 

Sturm did not seem too concerned. “Yeah, that’s normal. Overall, there always will be some highs and some lows. We always try to keep it even, even with our defensemen,” he said. “I do believe we spent, especially yesterday, too much in our end. If you do that, then I think when you go on offense, something is missing because you waste a lot of time chasing. So again, there’s different reasons. I’m not concerned about it. I think the D did a good job, and we try to push them every day to be part of our offense.”

Sturm hit shuffle on some of the defensive pairings for practice on Friday. Jonathan Aspirot lined up to the left side of Mason Lohrei, and Frederic Brunet skated with Connor Clifton. Sturm, naturally, did not commit to the changes. 

“We didn’t… I don’t know which practice you looked at, but we (haven’t) made a decision yet. So we just switched some, a few pairs around. But we will decide tomorrow how we’re going to do it.”

The Bruins will be back at TD Garden on Saturday morning ahead of their 7:00 PM game against the Minnesota Wild. 

The Wild handed the Bruins their first loss of the season on Oct. 3. Michael DiPietro made his Bruins debut and made 26 saves in a 4-1 loss, and a 2-for-3 Wild power play tilted the ice. 

“We’ll see tomorrow,” Sturm said when asked about the benefit of seeing Minnesota already this season. “I think it definitely helps because in (Minnesota) it was a tough game, too. They have some really good weapons, and again, at least we know what to expect. But the biggest thing for us is [to] get back to our game and play a really tight-checking game against some really good weapons.” 

James Hagens, who has been on injured reserve since Nov. 7, appeared on the Bruins bench near the end of practice. Sturm did not have any update as to when he will return, but said “he’s getting better every day.” 

“He’s doing really good. He’s been around every day,” Sturm said. “He’s a hockey nerd and a kid. He just wants to play hockey, and he wants to be around the guys. I think overall, he’s getting better every day. So just got to be patient, but it’s nice to have him around.”