After the Boston Bruins suffered their first loss of the season to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, they showed that it wasn’t anything to worry about.
The Bruins picked up where they left off before facing off with the Red Wings, and promptly picked up their tenth win of the season over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.
The win improved the team record to 10-1-1 on the season, keeping them right at the top of the Eastern Conference by four points, and no. 2 in the conference by four.
Here’s what Tuesday night’s victory proved.
Beecher proved that… Boston has a good young core in their forwards
On Tuesday night, John Beecher proved that Boston made the right call keeping him after training camp when he picked up his first NHL goal when he opened the scoring at the 10:21 mark in the first period, giving his guys the first lead.
Just a beauty of a first for Beech 🤩 pic.twitter.com/uHH7eXlrqp
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 7, 2023
Earlier this year, Beecher was written off as a potential trade bait forward, but now that he has broken the scoreboard and has two points, it might be worth taking a look at him again.
Yes, he has a -3 plus/minus rating, but he has put in some significant effort and has played in every game so far this season. Clearly, head coach Jim Montgomery has found something he likes in Beecher. Now it’s about him contributing on a more consistent basis.
Lohrei proved that… the Bruins don’t need Matt Grzelcyk
It may be a hot-take here, but Mason Lohrei has been an excellent fill in for the Bruins so far, and after picking up his first career goal on Tuesday night, and second career point in three games, it may time for Boston to start fielding offers for Matt Grzelcyk while you can still eke some value out of him.
There's LOTS to love about this, Lohrei. 💯 pic.twitter.com/FFKv7lcHBb
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 7, 2023
At the end of the season, Grzelcyk will be an unrestricted free agent and with a base salary of $4.25 million this year, he’ll definitely be seeking more after having career years the last two years in terms of points.
There is a chance that the former Boston University defenseman wants to stay in Boston, but if the Bruins aren’t able to match his number, he may walk out the door. Better get something for nothing. Better yet, you would only be paying Lohrei $925,000 – a fraction of what Grzelcyk costs.
Swayman proved that… Boston has to pay him in the off-season
When Boston first signed Linus Ullmark to a four-year deal back in 2021 following the departure of Tuukka Rask, it seemed like a good deal seeing as the Bruins didn’t know what they had in Jeremy Swayman, nor did they know what they had in Brandon Bussi.
Now going into the second month of the season, Boston knows very well what they have in Swayman, Bussi and Ullmark. Unfortunately, the latter is starting to show his age, and the other two look like absolute studs.
Swayman has gone 6-0-0, tying the aforementioned Rask and Tiny Thompson with the best starts to the season since Tim Thomas starting the season 7-0-0. Given how well he has started this season, Swayman needs to get paid and soon.
What’s next for the Bruins?
The Bruins are back in action on Thursday night when they are back at home and take on the New York Islanders – puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.