Coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Boston Bruins are facing an exhausting schedule this week with four upcoming games. Having won three of their last four games, the B’s have improved greatly, but are still struggling during the second half of each game. For the first 20-30 minutes they look like a team heading to a postseason. The last 30 minutes they lose their momentum and don’t look like a team that is even worthy of a playoff spot. With a difficult four-game stretch ahead of them, they will need to improve their late game to stay in playoff contention.
Detroit Red Wings
Coming up today at 12:30pm EST, the Bruins will host the Detroit Red Wings for their fourth match-up of the year. So far, the Bruins are winning the series 2-1 with a 3-2 shootout win and a 5-2 regulation win. The Flyers took the first game this season 2-1. The last time the two teams met, Boston took an early lead with three goals in the first and never let it go. With the Red Wings holding fifth place in the Eastern Conference, it will be a challenge for the Bruins to come out with two points, but already being on top in the series brings a positive outlook for the B’s. The teams will meet for the fifth and final time on April 2nd.
Ottawa Senators
On Tuesday March 10th the Bruins will travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators at 7:30pm EST. Currently behind in the series 2-1, the Bruins will be looking to tie the series up by taking two points. The Senators are also fighting for points, standing five points behind the B’s and currently out of the postseason. Taking every point is crucial for the B’s, but it is vitally important to take the points from Ottawa. The Bruins will travel to Ottawa again on Thursday March 19th for their fifth and final game of the regular season.
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Tampa Bay Lightning
The Bruins will host the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time this year on Thursday March 12th at 7pm EST. Boston took the first two points with a heated, energetic and eventful 4-3 win during their first meeting. David Pastrnak scored his third and fourth goals of the season – showing the team why he deserved a full-time spot on the roster. Zdeno Chara let Tampa know why he is not to be messed with, dropping Cedric Paquette not once, but twice with a single punch (two separate fights). It will be interesting to see these two meet up again. Holding the second spot for the Eastern Conference, Tampa will be a challenging team to take on. The Bruins and Tampa will meet two more times this season on March 22nd and April 11th.
Pittsburgh Penguins
On Saturday March 14th at 1pm EST, the Bruins will look to take the series from the Pittsburgh Penguins who are currently nine points ahead of the B’s and in sixth place for the Eastern Conference. As always, it is sure to be a difficult game that is full of controversy, energy and lots of production. Both games this year have gone to overtime with the outcome split – each team taking one game 3-2. If the Bruins want to take the series, they will need speed from their forwards, big hits from their defense and Rask – or Svedberg – to be unbeatable between the pipes.
Although it is a challenging week ahead, winning three out of the last four games has given the Bruins some momentum and confidence to move forward and take a bunch of points.