Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs. Utah Hockey Club

Things have certainly changed for the Boston Bruins since they last were on the TD Garden ice Monday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 5-1 setback. Tuesday afternoon, the front office made a shakeup that was rumored and that was firing head coach Jim Montgomery, replacing him for the time being with Joe Sacco.

Sacco will get his first game behind the Black and Gold’s bench Thursday night at home when the Bruins host the Utah Hockey Club for their only visit to Boston for the 2024-25 season. This will be an interesting night as to how the players respond to a coaching change and we’ll see if it turns things around in what has been a disappointing first 20 games.

Last Game

The Bruins hit rock bottom on Monday night with their loss to the Blue Jackets digging a 3-0 hole after the first period before falling by four goals. They allowed two shorthanded goals and knocked one of the goals into their net. They only managed a Charlie Coyle second-period power-play goal.

The Utah Hockey Club is coming in off a 6-2 loss at home to the Washington Capitals, also on Monday night. Like the Bruins, they allowed three first-period goals to the Caps, who have been a surprise this season in the Eastern Conference.

Boston Bruins vs. Utah Hockey Club: History

This is the second of two meetings between the Bruins and the Utah Hockey Club. In October, the Black and Gold took a 1-0 lead into the third period before giving up the tying goal to force overtime, where Utah won, 2-1. A bad road loss early in the season.

Boston Bruins vs. Utah Hockey Club: Players to Watch

For the Bruins, once again, everyone is a player to watch. How do Boston’s stars respond to the coaching change, how does their goaltending respond and can they put together a 60-minute effort and begin to turn things around before it gets too late? 

For the Utah Hockey Club, Dylan Guenther leads the way with seven goals and Clayton Keller has six. After that, only Mikhail Sergachev has more than three with four. Between the pipes, Connor Ingram is 6-4-3 with a 3.61 GAA and a .871 SV%.