Winners of four straight on Thursday night, entering their matchup with the Ottawa Senators, the Boston Bruins were beginning a stretch of five straight Atlantic Division games against teams from Canada. The Bruins picked up a 3-2 overtime win on Pavel Zacha's game-winning goal with 5.6 seconds remaining against former teammate Linus Ullmark.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Black and Gold and a good start to a stretch in November that is going to be a key stretch before the Thanksgiving Break in three weeks. The schedule during this stretch is a strange one for Marco Sturm and his team, with some travel back and forth to Canada.
Bruins begin key stretch against division foes with overtime victory
The win over Ottawa was a nice one in terms of rallying from a first-period deficit, but now things are going to get a lot tougher beginning on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road. The Maple Leafs will pose a big test for the Bruins' new system under Sturm, as they have a lot of offensive firepower that will test the defensive system.
It is the beginning of a home and home stretch between the two heated rivals, with Toronto returning the trip to the TD Garden on Tuesday night. That will be a one-game stop at home before Boston returns to Canada to play at the Senators for a second time and final time this year, and then their first trip to Montreal to play the red-hot Canadiens.
This begins a vital stretch for the Bruins, who also have a trip to California before the American Thanksgiving Holiday break, which many use as a stepping stone to determine which teams are in playoff spots and have a real possibility to make the postseason in the spring. Right now, the Black and Gold need to find a way to get through this stretch in a playoff spot against some very tough competition.