Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs. Colorado Avalanche

The Boston Bruins will begin a three-game road trip Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. This feels like an annual early-season test for the Black and Gold on the road against of the top teams in the Western Conference, regardless of what their record is.

At 2-2-0, this will be a good early season road test for Jim Montgomery’s team coming after losing two of their first four games of the season to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Stops in Utah and Nashville follow, but before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s preview the Bruins' fifth game of the 2024 season.

Last Games

The Bruins are coming into this matchup off a 4-3 loss to the shorthanded Panthers at the TD Garden on Monday afternoon. Florida was shorthanded playing without Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, but will still able to get under the skin of the Black and Gold, who played right into their hands.

Colorado has dropped their first three games of the season, including home games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders. Despite their record and losses to the Blue Jackets and Islanders, it’s only a matter of time before the Avs figure things out.

Bruins vs. Avalanche History Matchup

This is the first of two meetings this season between the two clubs and the Avalanche will visit the TD Garden on Jan. 25. 

Bruins vs. Avalanche Players to Watch

For the Bruins, the top-six is worth watching. They were called out by Jim Montgomery following the loss to the Panthers on Monday, now it’s a matter of how they respond to it. Boston’s fourth line of Mark Kastelic, John Beecher, and Cole Koepke have been hands down their best line of the season.

There are going to be a lot of eyes on whoever plays goal for the Avalanche. Goaltending has been an issue with Alexander Georgiev and, surprisingly, they didn’t make more of a run for Linus Ullmark before Don Sweeney traded him to the Ottawa Senators. Colorado also has star defenseman Cale Makar along with a lot of firepower up front. This has the makings of a very difficult start to the road trip for the Black and Gold.