VANCOUVER — Late in Saturday’s third period, Jeremy Swayman saw Filip Hronek cock his stick at the point. It let Swayman know a slap shot was on its way.

But Swayman did not see Hronek strike the puck. Brock Boeser, who had been parked in front of the Boston Bruins goalie, disrupted Swayman’s sightline just enough.

So by the time Hronek’s shot arrived, Swayman could not get in front of the tying shot. Just like that, a 2-0 third-period lead was gone.

Definition of a ROCKET 🚀 pic.twitter.com/7K3KGBIaFK

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 25, 2024

“Good flash screen in front of me,” Swayman said of the tying goal after the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss. “But obviously I want that one back. It’s one of those things where it could be a positioning save. It’s just unacceptable. We can’t be losing games like that. So it’s something I’m going to work on, and I can’t wait.”

Swayman (36 saves) had more of a chance to deny the Vancouver Canucks’ tying goal than he did in OT. Jake DeBrusk put Swayman in a jam by jumping over the boards before Brad Marchand retreated to the bench. Referees Graham Skilliter and Frederick L’Ecuyer spotted the infraction.

With Trent Frederic serving the penalty for too many men, the Canucks ended the game. Again, Boeser was the net-front difference-maker. Quinn Hughes unloaded a rocket from the top of the left circle. Before Derek Forbort could slide over to deny his stick, Boeser deflected Hughes’ blast past Swayman.

“Overzealous,” coach Jim Montgomery said of DeBrusk’s premature entry. “He wants to do the right thing. But you just can’t get into the play.”

The Bruins have given up 11 goals in overtime. No team has allowed more.

“We haven’t been good enough,” Montgomery said of overtime. “A lot of points squandered. I have to look at the player usage and who’s on the ice. We know it already. But I’m probably going to the well too often with the same players.”

The Bruins’ problems started well before DeBrusk’s goof.

The Bruins were up 2-0 after 40 minutes. Jesper Boqvist and Danton Heinen scored in the second period. Swayman was airtight: square, athletic, aggressive when necessary, far cleaner on initial shots than he was in his previous start against the Edmonton Oilers. Swayman turned back all 21 shots he saw through 40 minutes.

“I learn from every game,” said Swayman. “That’s something I want to do — be known as a goalie that’s going to track pucks, not give out rebounds and give my team the best chance to win every night.”

But things weren’t proceeding as the Bruins wanted. They were not getting enough heat on Thatcher Demko (15 saves on 17 shots through two periods). They weren’t even possessing the puck enough in the offensive zone. DeBrusk and Brad Marchand, their first-line wings, combined for zero shots. James van Riemsdyk, the No. 2 left wing, didn’t have a shot either.

“If we put the puck in behind their defensemen and forecheck, that’s where you’ve seen our team have a lot more success for sure,” said Brandon Carlo. “We have so many fast guys that can get in behind the big guys. From a personal standpoint, it’s hard going back on pucks when they keep chipping it behind you every single time. From there, we can do a little bit better job. Also from the D-zone, us defensemen, we can move pucks a little faster to create that transition and put the puck in the forwards’ hands.”

At 12:46 of the third, Pavel Zacha lost a defensive-zone faceoff to J.T. Miller. Three seconds later, Nikita Zadorov threaded a seam pass to Boeser at the left circle. Boeser buried the shot.

At 18:35, with Demko off for a sixth attacker, Zacha took another defensive-zone draw, this time against Elias Lindholm. Zacha lost again. Fourteen seconds later, Hronek’s tying shot went through. The Canucks outshot the Bruins in the third period, 17-5.

Saturday was the fifth straight overtime game for the Bruins. They had zero shots in OT. The Bruins have lost a league-high eight games in which they’ve led after two periods.

“The two-goal lead bothers me more than the OT, to be honest,” said Montgomery. “It’s a game you should close out. I don’t like the way we sat back. We had some costly mistakes that were mental-awareness breakdowns.”

(Photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA Today)