BOSTON — The Bruins will put their five-game winning streak to the test this week as they make their annual trek through the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
Boston earned two points but zero wins during this same trip last season, but the 2015-16 editions of the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks all are in the midst of underwhelming campaigns.
The Oilers, whom the Bruins visit first Wednesday night, are tied for last in the NHL with 18 points and have stud rookie Connor McDavid (broken collarbone) watching each game from the press box.
The team the Oilers are tied with? Well, that would be the Flames, who own an identical 8-14-2 record and a league-worst minus-31 goal differential. Calgary also possesses two of the NHL’s most inefficient special teams units (29th in power-play percentage, 30th in penalty kill) and has received next to nothing from marquee offseason acquisition Dougie Hamilton, who has tallied just two goals and three assists since coming over in a trade from Boston.
The Canucks have fared better than their fellow western Canadian clubs, but they still entered the week outside the playoff picture in a very deep Western Conference. Vancouver, a 101-point team a season ago, also has developed a penchant for losing games in agonizing fashion, with a league-high seven of its 15 losses coming in either overtime or a shootout. The Sedin twins still are racking up the points, though (Daniel is tied for fourth in the NHL with 27; Henrik is tied for 15th with 23). So, there’s that.
But despite the recent struggles of their upcoming opponents (none has won more than four of its last 10 games), the Bruins stressed before departing for Edmonton on Monday that this trip will not be a walk in the park.
“It’s always a tough road trip, heading west and playing some good teams,” center Patrice Bergeron said. “It’s definitely a big statement trip for us, making sure we keep going the way we’ve been last game and carrying that with us. But also, we’re finding ways to win games, and it’s definitely a positive. We’ve got to build on that.”
Head coach Claude Julien echoed his alternate captain, pointing to the Oilers’ youth (five of their top seven scorers have yet to turn 25), the Flames’Â solid play at home and the timing of the Bruins’ matchup with the Canucks, which caps a three games-in-four nights stretch.
“It’s not an easy trip,” Julien said. “We know that. First of all, Edmonton, who we saw play the other night there against Pittsburgh, are a team that skates well. They’ve got skill. They’re a young team, and those young legs can be hard to play against at times. So, whether they’re still a little bit up and down, because of youth, they still represent a danger.
“Calgary, we know their situation. They seem to play us well in their building all the time. And then we’ve got the (second end of a) back-to-back in Vancouver, and we come back and play against Nashville (next Monday). So, it is a tough schedule.”
The Bruins have been a tough out on the road this season, winning eight of their 10 games away from TD Garden. Only the West-leading Dallas Stars (10-2-0) have a higher winning percentage in games outside their home arena.
Thumbnail photo via Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports Images
