The Boston Bruins are 6-0-0 to start their Centennial season. They just swept a four-game western road trip, finishing it off with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But now we take a look and preview the upcoming home stand.
They will return home to face the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday to start a four-game home stand. Following Anaheim, they will host the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. All Atlantic Division opponents.
🎥 Coach Montgomery on the #NHLBruins perfect road trip: "Loved the results, loved our goaltending. Starting to see our team identity build…you're starting to see us be a heavy, grinding team, which is I think what we're gonna have to be." pic.twitter.com/lnCTHXBupN
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 25, 2023
Previewing the Boston Bruins Homestand
Anaheim Ducks
The first matchup on the Bruins home stand is someone they’ve played recently. Boston just played the Ducks in the third game of their Western road trip. They defeated them 3-1 in a game where rookie Matthew Poitras scored his first two career NHL goals. The Ducks are still in a rebuilding stage but have a lot of young, explosive talent.
That consists of their forwards like Trevor Zegras, who just signed a three-year extension. Further, it includes forward Mason McTavish and Troy Terry. Defenceman Jamie Drysdale just signed a three-extension as well and is also part of their young core.
However, he was placed on IR after getting hurt in the second game of the season. They also have a solid goaltender in John Gibson. The Ducks are off to a 2-4-0 start.
Detroit Red Wings
This will be the biggest test the team will face. A strong team in the division is up next on the Bruins home stand. The Red Wings are off to a hot 5-1-1 start. Led by their captain, Dylan Larkin, they have been an offensive juggernaut so far, scoring 34 goals in seven games. Larkin has recorded 14 points, four goals and ten assists.
Alex DeBrincat, who was acquired via trade from Ottawa in the off-season, has 13 points. The forward has nine goals and four assists. They also have young talent, such as winger Lucas Raymond and defenceman Moritz Seider.
GM Steve Yzerman has put this team in a good position to be a potential playoff team this season. The Wings haven’t made the playoffs since 2016. Except this to be an exciting matchup against Boston on Saturday night.
Florida Panthers
The Elephant in the room can’t be ignored as the Panthers knocked the Bruins out in the first round of last season’s playoffs. The Panthers are off to a 3-3-0 start. It should be noted they are without their two best defencemen, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour. Both are on IR recovering from injuries they suffered in last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Everyone, of course, knows Matthew Tkachuk, who was a menace against Boston in the playoffs. Centre Sam Reinhart is off to a hot start, recording seven goals in the first six games. Off-season addition Evan Rodrigues is off to a good start as well, with eight points in six games.
And, of course, there’s Aleksander Barkov, who is arguably their best all-around player. He is undoubtedly one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Sergei Bobrovsky has also returned, and although a wildcard in the regular season, he gave Boston first in the playoffs. This should be a highly spirited matchup with a lot of physicality.
Toronto Maple Leafs
It does not get better than this, especially being part of the Bruins home stand. The Bruins-Leafs rivalry has been boiling for a while now, but it may be its hottest this season. The Leafs fired GM Kyle Dubas in the off-season and replaced him with Brad Treliving. The front office went all in, signing Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi as UFAs in the summer.
The Leafs are off to a 4-2 start, and their high-end talent has been front and center. William Nylander and John Travers each have ten points. Austin Mathews has seven goals after recording hat-tricks in back-to-back games.
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov has been shakey to start the season despite having a 2-1 record. The Leafs netminder has a 4.34 GAA and a .831 SV% in four starts. This will definitely be a highly emotional tilt, as all Bruins-Leafs games are.
The Bruins have been very successful on home ice the past several seasons. This presents a great opportunity to build on sweeping a four-game road trip.
Main Photo: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
