Boston Bruins Weekly Predictions: Oct 12th to 18th
By Jay Peterson
So, the first two games of the regular season didn’t quite go according to plan for the Boston Bruins. Zdeno Chara has yet to return to the lineup which resulted in a poor outing defensively. The Bruins also ran into lots of penalty trouble and lacked the mental toughness and focus to keep themselves in the game for a full 60 minutes. The only real positive coming from the first two games was that the offensive lines seemed to be clicking nicely, with David Pastrnak and Loui Eriksson looking especially sharp.
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With three games coming up in the first full week of regular season hockey, the Bruins will need to act fast in fixing their problems if they want to get off to a decent start in the month of October. They will be playing one more home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning before going on their first regular season road trip, facing off against the Colorado Avalanche and then the Arizona Coyotes.
Bruins v Lightning
I am going into this game under the assumption that Zdeno Chara will once again not play. I am also, unfortunately, getting the feeling that this game will be very similar to Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins defense will not be able to handle the offensive threats spread throughout the Lightning lineup and will see themselves, once again, chasing the game. This will lead to even more mistakes and even more goals against. While I believe the team will have a better outing overall, this loss will simply be a result of one team just being better than the other. I see the Tampa Bay Lightning winning this game 4-2.
Dec 6, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) controls the puck in the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Bruins defeated the Coyotes 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins v Avalanche
Zdeno Chara’s inclusion into the lineup will become more and more probable as the week goes on. So, for the next two games, I am guessing, and hoping, that the Bruins captain will make his regular season debut. The Colorado Avalanche are another young fast team that could put the Bruins defense on their heels. However, Colorado’s defense isn’t the strongest either, so this game could turn into a high scoring affair. While the chances of a lot of goals is evident, I will predict that this is the game where Tuukka Rask says enough and shuts the door. I expect the same from Avalanche goaltender, Simeon Varlamov, which will result in an epic goalie battle. With over 30 shots from both teams by the end of the game, I am giving the Bruins the vote of confidence to put the Avalanche away in 3 on 3 overtime, in a 2-1 final.
Bruins v Coyotes
With the last games being so difficult to squeeze wins out of, the Bruins will desperately need a big win in Arizona to get themselves out of the basement. I am going to give it to them. Their are certain teams this year in the NHL where, no matter how awful the Bruins are doing, I will automatically bet on Boston taking the win. The Arizona Coyotes are one of those teams. It remains to be seen if the Bruins will have enough swagger to make it an absolute blowout, since we haven’t seen anything close to that so far, but the opportunity will certainly present itself. Arizona is not a good team and will not pose a threat to Boston unless the Bruins are completely deflated and bring nothing to the table. I believe that, regardless of their regular season record up to this point, the Bruins will be able to pull off a convincing 3-1 win.
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I feel that in both Colorado and Arizona games, Tuukka Rask will be excellent and will be very close to earning his first shutout of the season. However, with the Bruins defense playing the way it has been lately, the idea seems unlikely to become a reality. We knew that bringing in so many young defensemen at once was going to present some issues. That is a large part of the youth movement and the retooling process that GM Don Sweeney has continually preached about. If the Bruins can maintain a .500 record while Chara and Seidenberg are injured, the team should be able to climb up the standings once their key defenseman are healthy again.
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