Boston Bruins Weekly Predictions: How The West Was Won
Boston Bruins Weekly Predictions: How The West Was Won
The Boston Bruins were able to collect a decent amount of points last week and gain some momentum after the All Star Break. Now they must continue playing well against a few Western Conference teams this week. The Bruins will first host the Los Angeles Kings before going on a six game road trip starting in Winnipeg against the Jets followed by back to back games versus the Minnesota Wild and, formerly of the Western Conference, Detroit Red Wings.
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Bruins v Kings
Los Angeles is one of the few teams in the NHL that has distanced themselves from their divisional rivals in the points race. If Boston wants to be in a similar position, they are going to need to win games like this. The first time former Bruins Milan Lucic plays against his old teammates and in front of the home crowd should be one to remember. Expect a huge ovation and multiple sticks taps on the ice for Looch.
The Bruins have been taking their games to overtime lately and I get the feeling that this one will go in that direction as well. In an outer conference match such as this, giving the opposition an extra point for exceeding regulation time doesn’t really matter so it tends to happen pretty often. Unfortunately, when it is time to gain that extra point, I think the Los Angeles Kings will be the ones to grab it, with a final score of 3 to 2.
Bruins v Jets
The Winnipeg Jets have not been playing good hockey. The young goalie sensation Connor Hellebuyck has slowed down along with the rest of the team which has resulted in them joining all of the other Canadian teams at the bottom of the standings. With the playoffs still a possibility for all teams in the NHL, look for Winnipeg to play a desperate home game.
It will be up to the Bruins to bring their best road game to the table, which they have done much more often than not this year. Tuukka Rask will continue to start all of the games as he is beginning to heat up. I do not think that he will get a shutout in this game, but he will have a first star performance with the Bruins taking this game 3 to 1.
Bruins v Wild
I have always said that the Minnesota Wild are the Boston Bruins of the West. They play a full team game with a great defensive system which leads to goaltenders having the potential to post great statistics. Although the Bruins have somewhat veered away from that structure this season, the Wild have remained true to it.
This chess match of a hockey game will have very little scoring chances and even fewer goals, obviously. This will be one of those games where you believe that it will go to overtime. However, something is telling me that the Bruins will not be able to hold on that long and will give up a goal late in the game giving Minnesota the 2 to 1 victory.
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Bruins v Red Wings
This will be Jonas Gustavsson‘s first start since returning from his injury. Playing against his former team will add even more incentive to grabbing a win. After three games against the West, where points for the other team don’t matter, the Bruins need to get back into the mentality of giving no points to the opposition.
Like the Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings are right in the thick of things in the Atlantic Division and neither team can afford to give the other team any points. The Bruins need to strike early to avoid the close matchups that they would have had against all of the Western Conference teams. I believe that they will be able to do this and have control over the majority of the game. I’m seeing a finish of 4 to 2 in favor of the Bruins.
While every team is still mathematically in the playoff hunt, some teams have begun to fall apart in recent weeks. In order for that not to happen to the Bruins, the team needs to play a complete game and come together on this long road trip. After the home game against Los Angeles, the Bruins won’t be back in TD Garden until February 22nd, when they play the Columbus Blue Jackets. By that time, the standings will be plenty different.
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