Hub of Hockey: Boston Bruins Have Quiet Week Ahead
By Ryan Gagne
The Boston Bruins were busy last week with a mini trip down to Florida to play against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers. Of course, the boys had Thanksgiving off but were right back at it on Friday afternoon with a matinee matchup at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Captain Patrice Bergeron scored his 1,000th point against the Lightning, helping the Bruins come from behind to win 5-3. However, the team had one rare off night in Miami, dropping a 5-2 contest to the Panthers, just their third season loss. Then with their home winning streak on the line, the B’s rallied to pull off a 3-2 overtime win to set an NHL record for most consecutive home wins (12) to start the regular season.
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Now with two milestones off the board, the Bruins continue their quest for the franchise’s fourth Presidents’ Trophy.
Monday, Nov. 29 @ 7:00 PM vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (TD Garden)
The Bruins continue their four-game homestand with another matchup against the Lightning. The two teams met last Monday in Tampa Bay, with the Bruins rebounding from a sluggish first period to walk away with another win, 5-3.
Despite boasting some of the most lethal scorers in the league, the Lightning almost got the victory off the stick of Nicholas Paul, who had two goals. Additionally, Pat Maroon got involved in the scoring, collecting two assists, while Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman, and Steven Stamkos also had points.
Linus Ullmark was superb in net, making 32 saves, while the B’s got goals from Charlie Coyle, Nick Foligno, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. Of course, the night’s highlight belonged to Bergeron, who tallied his 1,000th point on Marchand’s second-period goal. The team celebrated with the captain by emptying the bench to embrace in a group hug to mark the occasion.
The recent win improved the Bruins’ record to 69-30-9-3 over their southern rivals and extended their current winning streak against the team to four games.
After his historic overtime winner on Friday, Pastrnak raised his season total to 32 points thanks to 14 goals and 18 assists, which leads the team in all categories. Historically, he loves playing in November, and as the month winds down, he’ll look to improve his career-best 47-goal total. Moreover, he has 78 points in 77 November games in his career, which equals 1.01 points per game.
On the other side of the ice, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has a losing record, 6-8-2, against the Bruins and will try his best to collect a win. Of course, the B’s are the best team on home ice right now, so it is an uphill climb, but the two-time Stanley Cup champion has never been afraid of a challenge.
These two teams will meet again in Florida on Jan. 26, 2023, and one final contest on Mar. 25, 2023, at the Garden.
Saturday, Dec. 3 @ 7:00 PM vs. Colorado Avalanche (TD Garden)
The defending Stanley Cup champions make their only appearance in Boston this Saturday. Right now, the Avalanche sit in second place in the Central Division, three points behind the Dallas Stars.
The Bruins will catch the Avalanche at the tail end of their four-game trip since they play in Winnipeg on Tuesday and Buffalo on Thursday. After starting the season with a 4-5 record, the Avs are now 8-2 in their last ten games and are still deciding whether to give up their crown.
Historically, the Bruins are 74-58-15-3 over the Avalanche, which includes their time as the Quebec Nordiques from 1979-1995. Last year the teams split their meetings, with the Bruins winning in Boston 4-3 in overtime and the Avs winning 5-1 in Denver. Since the team’s relocation in 1995, the B’s have never won a season series against their former Adams Division rivals. We have to go back to 1994-95 to find the last time the black and gold outdueled their upcoming opponents, winning that season three games to one.
Interestingly, Hampus Lindholm has played in 22 games against the Avalanche. Additionally, the former Anaheim Ducks defender is playing like an All-Star on the B’s this year with 18 points in 21 games. Although Lindholm only has nine points against the Avs, he’s collected 26 penalty minutes against the club, the highest against any opponent.
For the visitors, they had a busy summer replacing Darcy Kuemper in goal. They acquired Alexander Georgiev from the New York Rangers, and he hasn’t disappointed with a 10-2-1 record thus far. In his career, he’s 2-3-1 against the Bruins with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Interestingly, he’s given up two power-play and three shorthanded goals in those contests.
These two teams will meet next week in Denver when the Bruins embark on a three-game trip through the southwest.
Check next week for another Hub of Hockey Weekly post, where we preview more upcoming Bruins games. Also, don’t forget to follow Causeway Crowd on social media for game-day trivia and player-of-the-game polls!