We are now less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving in the United States and the Boston Bruins have yet to win a game against an Eastern Conference foe and currently sit in 6th place in the Atlantic Division. Is that bad?
To answer that question: yes that is extremely horrid for a Boston Bruins team who before the season had playoff aspirations. Now to be fair, they have only played 6 Eastern Conference teams, but the Bruins are 0-3-3 in those games. To have not beaten a team in your conference is just a depressing thought for the team and for the fans.
Just in the past week, they played 3 Eastern Conference teams and could not pull out a win in any of them. Maybe if the Bruins just move out west, they’d be good again…maybe? But focusing on last week, the Bruins started off hot, but it just got worse as the week progressed, ultimately ending in a home and home sweep at the hands Toronto Maple Leafs. Let’s begin the weekly roundup.
Game 1: Minnesota Wild
On Monday night, Boston played host to the Minnesota Wild, and without key players like Brad Marchand, David Krejci, David Backes, and Ryan Spooner among others, the Bruins played one of their best games of the year. As with most games this season, the Bruins went down early, but quickly fired back with two goals from two different young guns. First Jake DeBrusk scored, then minutes later it was Frank Vatrano who gave the Bruins the 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.
In the second, the Bruins continued firing on all cylinders as the Bruins added two more goals. Sean Kuraly pounded one in from the crease, and then Torey Krug sent a bullet from the point, which beat Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk. This gave the Bruins a seemingly commanding 4-1 advantage after 2 periods.
But in the third, the Bruins couldn’t coast to what should have been an easy victory as the Wild quickly scored to make it 4-2. Then with 4 minutes left Eric Staal scored a shorty, making it a one goal game. Luckily, the Bruins were able to hang on and Tim Schaller potted an empty net goal, securing the 5-3 win and the two points.
Full recap here.
Game 2: New York Rangers
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The Bruins headed out to the “World’s Most Famous Arena” Madison Square Garden and squared off against the Rangers. Per usual this season, the Rangers scored first. But 20 seconds later, David Pastrnak scored the equalizer, and had the Bruins right back in the game. With about 5 minutes left in the period, Harvard product Jimmy Vesey scored twice in less than 30 seconds to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead after the first period.
The second period was scoreless. The Bruins had some chances, but King Henrik Lundquvist stood tall to keep the Bruins at bay. In the final frame, the Bruins were pressing for two goals, but only found the back of the net once. Patrice Bergeron scored midway through the period cutting the Rangers lead to one. Rick Nash capped off the game with an empty net goal with 8 seconds remaining, giving the Rangers a 4-2 victory over the Bruins.
Full recap here.
Game 3: Toronto Maple Leafs
After leaving NYC, the Bruins made a quick visit to Toronto and the Air Canada Centre, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins started back-up goaltender Anton Khudobin in net. However, the Leafs were missing star forward Auston Matthews due to injury. In the first, both teams were kept off the scoresheet by Khudobin and Frederik Andersen, with both goalies playing well.
The Bruins actually scored first this game for a change. In the second, Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins on the board late in the period. But with 16 seconds remaining in the frame, James van Riemsdyk buried a goal and tied the game at 1.
Looking for a winner, the Bruins got the next goal, as David Pastrnak scored on the PP, restoring the Bruins lead. However, with one minute remaining, JVR scored again knotting the game at 2, and we are headed to overtime.
In OT the Leafs scored quickly after a initial push by the Bruins, with Patrick Marleau netting the game winning goal, giving the Leafs a 3-2 OT victory. The Bruins at least walked away with a point.
Full recap here.
Game 4: Toronto Maple Leafs
One night later, the teams switched venues and cities and played the next game in Boston in the TD Garden. The Leafs started this game quickly, scoring the first two goals of the game. Mitch Marner scored the first, and JVR doubled the lead thereafter. Frank Vatrano would score soon after JVR’s goal, cutting the lead in half.
The second period was goalless. The Bruins went into the locker room looking for a comeback in the third. That did not happen; in fact, it went exactly opposite. The Leafs scored against as Morgan Rielly made it 3-1 Toronto. The Bruins could not get the puck by Toronto’s backup goalie, Curtis McElhinney and before the final horn sounded, Patrick Marleau added an empty net goal, and the Leafs finished off the Bruins 4-1.
Full recap here.
Next: Bruins gifts for the fan in your life
The Road Ahead
The Bruins have the California road trip on the horizon. They visit Anaheim on Wednesday night, before shuffling down to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Thursday night. The Bruins wrap up the week on Saturday night to face off against the San Jose Sharks. Hope you guys love 10:00 pm and 10:30 pm start times!
Predictions
The way the Bruins have been playing recently, it is very tough to have a positive outlook for this difficult road trip. I see the Bruins going 1-2-0, with the only win coming against the Ducks on Wednesday.