The Boston Bruins are in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Tuesday night they lost to the defending Stanley Cup champions Carolina Hurricanes 2-1, then on Thursday they turned in a poor effort against the St Louis Blues, falling 4-1. The Bruins are home from their short road trip on Saturday afternoon for an Original Six matinee against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The matchup on Saturday should heavily favor the Bruins. The Blackhawks have only eight points on the season, and are currently 15th place in the Western Conference standings. However, Saturday lands on a date that the B’s have historically not been successful, Halloween. In the 26 games Boston has played on Halloween, they have a record of 9-14-3. The last time they played on October 31 was in 2024, they were blown out by the Carolina Hurricanes 8-2.
The 2024-25 Bruins were a far worse team than the present squad, but when you look back at Boston's past Halloween performances, there is enough background to be spooked about before Saturday’s game.
A Nightmare on Causeway Street
The Bruins played their first Halloween game in 1942 against the Montreal Canadiens. The B’s lost to the Habs 3-2 in a close game. This outcome was an omen for October 31’s to come, specifically against the Canadiens. The B’s own a dreadful 0-3-1 record against Montreal in their Halloween history.
Two of those results against the Canadiens came during a Halloween worst nine-game winless streak for the Bruins. The streak kicked off in a 3-3 tie against the Canadiens in 1988, then continued throughout the 1990’s into the early 2000’s with ties and losses against Montreal, the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angels Kings, Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Hurricanes, New York Islanders, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The final loss in the streak came in 2002 in a 4-1 defeat by the Ducks, where Hall-of-Famer Paul Kariya scored a hat trick against Boston. Kariya put the final nail in the coffin with seconds remaining in the game during a five-on-three power play opportunity. However, he is not the only player to score a hat trick against the Bruins on Halloween. The other player to pull this off was Frank Mahovlich in 1968, when the Detroit Red Wings topped the Bruins 7-5. No Boston Bruin has ever scored a hat trick on October 31.
Happy Halloween
Along with the scares they’ve experienced on Halloween, the Bruins have had their treats as well. Bobby Orr holds the franchise record for points on October 31, with 11 points in four games. He scored a goal in each game, but that wasn’t enough to reach the Halloween goals record. That honor is held by forward Ken Hodge, with five goals in four games.
In bringing up Orr and Hodge, it sheds light on the fact that the Bruins’ longest win streak on the holiday was three games, which they pulled off twice. The first time was the three game win streak on Halloweens 1970, 1971, and 1973. In 1970, the Bruins scored their most decisive victory on All Hallow’s Eve, beating the New York Rangers in a 6-0 shutout. The second streak came from the October 31’s of 2009, 2013, and 2015.
During the second streak, goalie Tuukka Rask was in net for the 2009 and 2013 wins. In 2009 he recorded a shutout against the Edmonton Oilers, and in 2013 he won a 3-2 game against the Ducks. That game was closed out by Jarome Iginla, who scored the deciding shootout goal. These two wins by Rask makes him the only undefeated goalie in Halloween games of Bruins with multiple games started. The only goalies who have played more than two games on the 31st were Eddie Johnston with a 2-1 record, and Reggie Lemelin, who went 0-1-2.
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