Now that the Boston Bruins have climbed up the standings and put themselves in a .500 position, the team will look to put up even more wins this week. The Bruins will have a rematch with the Arizona Coyotes followed, later in the week, by a back to back in the sunny south against Atlantic Division teams the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning (also for the second time this season). Although the team has improved in many areas, there is still lots of work to be done if they want to put together a decent winning streak.
Puck Prose
Bruins v Coyotes
Arizona should be poised to come out of hard in this game, since it was the Bruins who beat them a few games back. However, I am having a hard time believing that the Boston Bruins have still not won at home so, until they finally do, I will continue to say that the Bruins will play even harder to secure their first home victory. I feel like we will be seeing much of the same from when these two teams met before. The Bruins will have a lead going into the third period and will, hopefully, keep it and take the game 3 to 1.
Bruins v Panthers
Jimmy Hayes and Reilly Smith will both be extra motivated for this homecoming match. I expect that the Florida faithful will give Hayes a warm welcome, but who knows what will happen once the game starts. This is the first meeting between the two teams who both lost the playoff race last year and will both be hoping to get back into it this year. It is important that the Bruins show their dominance quickly and also capitalize on the chances they get. If they do these things, and play a responsible game, they should win. I see Gustavsson starting this one and continuing his strong play with a 4 to 2 victory.
Oct 12, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) keeps the puck from Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins v Lightning
I feel that, regardless of how well the Bruins do in their games prior to this one, we will seeing a similar game to the one earlier this season. The Boston Bruins defense just isn’t ready for some of the higher scoring teams in the league yet, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are one of those teams. This would be a great game for Tuukka Rask to finally come into form a steal, but I cannot rely on that happening. Like last game, the Bruins will put forth a good effort and there won’t be many complaints from the coaching staff about the game. However, the Bruins will be scored on in bunches, again, and the Lightning will hold the lead and take the game 5 to 2.
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It is important to note that if the Boston Bruins do defeat the Coyotes and the Panthers then they would be on a three game winning streak, which would be their longest of this young season. Also, the Bruins are on a current fourth game point streak, so things are definitely heading in the right direction. The crucial thing for this Bruins team right now is to just not get too down on themselves when something doesn’t go their way. If the Boston Bruins can remain positive and stick to their game plan and system, no matter what happens, they will always have a shot to win against any team in the NHL.
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