Boston Bruins Weekly Predictions: Dec 7th to 13th
By Jay Peterson
The Boston Bruins are back home and look to get back on track after a few bumps on their most recent road trip. Four points in three games during a western road trip should be a good thing, but, for anyone that saw how last week transpired, the overall feeling is disappointment. The Bruins had a chance to win every single one of the three games and were only able to do it once. This keeps them in a thick Atlantic Division race that they could have been further ahead of.
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Things don’t get much easier for the Bruins as they play another Western Conference team in the Nashville Predators. This game will be followed by two crucial Atlantic Division matches against the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers. Boston has looked like they have found their confidence many times only to lose it in their following game. If that happens again this week, they may find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Bruins v Predators
The Nashville Predators had a sensational start to the regular season this year. However, they have been struggling to score as of late and are 3-5-2 in their last ten games. Most believe that this team is too good to continue at this pace and their return to form may come against the Bruins. In order to win this game, Boston needs to respect the team that Nashville is and play a hard home game.
Dec 23, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Loui Eriksson (21) brings the puck around the back of the net to shoot at Nashville Predators goalie Carter Hutton (30) during the third period at TD Banknorth Garden. The Boston Bruins won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Bruins system worked stupendously against Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. If the defense is anything close to that level in this game, the Predators scoring woes will continue. The offense has still not been an issue yet for this Bruins team and, although I believe that this will be a low scoring game, the scoring chances need to be there if Boston plans to win this game. I don’t necessarily think that Tuukka Rask will have a busy night, but he will need to be sharp when the shots come at him. This will be a 2 to 1 chess match win for the Bruins, if they can make less mistakes.
Nov 7, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (79) and Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (37) battle for the puck during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins v Canadiens
Until the Boston Bruins can actually pull out a win against this team, I will continue to predict in favor of Montreal. The Canadiens, like the Predators, have slowed down a bit. If there was ever a time for Boston to grab a win against their all time rivals, this would be the time. Unfortunately, there is so much that goes wrong for the Bruins when they play Montreal that I just feel like something will come up again that will throw the Bruins off their game. 4 to 2 for Montreal is my choice for the final score in this game.
Bruins v Panthers
This is a must win for the Bruins, who need to distance themselves from a sneaky Florida Panthers club. While all fans are looking for the Bruins to catch and pass teams like Detroit and Ottawa, it is also important to look in the rearview mirror every so often. Florida is always in the hunt and could pounce if the Bruins are not on their game. After two days off, and returning back home from Montreal, the Bruins should be well rested and well prepared for this game. I am looking for the Bruins to win every period in this game, beating the Panthers 4 to 1.
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I am hoping that this week is just another week at the office for the Bruins and that they just do what they do best. When they bring that identity for a full sixty minutes, their chances of winning are very good. It then depends on how competitive the opposition is. In this week’s case, the opponent’s are difficult, so if we do not see that full team effort that makes Boston the team they are, we might be in for some more disappointing losses.
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