The Boston Bruins' point streak came to an end Tuesday night at TD Garden, as the Black and Gold dropped a 3-1 decision to the Anaheim Ducks.
With the loss, the Bruins suffered their first regulation defeat since Dec. 14 against the Washington Capitals -- amounting to an 18-game point streak.
Ryan Spooner scored Boston's lone goal of the game, while Anton Khudobin made 24 saves for the Bruins, who fall to 29-11-8 on the season.
Along with the loss, the Bruins lost two forwards to injury, as Anders Bjork and David Backes both left Tuesday's matchup after taking hits from Anaheim skaters. The Bruins are already shorthanded, with Brad Marchand still in the middle of a five-game suspension and both Charlie McAvoy and Noel Acciari recovering from injuries.
"Bjork is upper body," Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Backes I have nothing. I went in there - right now, I think he's fine, but I don't know. Bjork, definitely upper body, and he'll miss some time. I don't know how much."
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Bruins struggled to shake off the rust in the opening period, with the Black and Gold failing to fire their first shot on net against Ducks goalie John Gibson until 11:42 in the frame.
To make matters worse, Boston lost one of its young forwards midway thought the period, as Bjork left the game after appearing to hurt his shoulder by taking a check from Francois Beauchemin. He did not return for the remainder of the matchup.
Adding to the Bruins' woes, Anaheim opened the scoring at 9:04, with the puck bouncing off of Khudobin and sliding into the back of the net after getting a push from a tumbling Zdeno Chara. Jakob Silfverberg was credited with the goal -- his 12th of the season.
A slashing call against Torey Krug at 12:35 allowed Anaheim to add to its lead, as Adam Henrique beat Khudobin with a quick snap shot at 13:59 to put Boston into a two-goal hole going into the first intermission.
Neither team managed to find the back of the net in the second period, while Backes was knocked out of the game in the final stanza after taking a high hit from Nick Ritchie that Backes did not see coming. The Bruins veteran was down on the ice for some time before exiting down the tunnel and leaving the game for good.
Spooner finally put Boston on the board with 42 seconds remaining in regulation, but Henrique added his second tally of the night with seven seconds to go to close out the win for Anaheim.
Boston has lost its last eight games against the Ducks at 0-7-1, with its last win standing as a 3-2 shootout victory in Boston on October 21, 2013.
The Bruins will resume play on Thursday, with the Black and Gold set to host the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden for a 7 p.m. matchup.