The Boston Bruins have had a rough few weeks but managed to lock down points in each of their last seven games.
Four of those points came via a 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals and a 5-4 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings.
The B’s capped off their week with a 2-1 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The Avs played a strong game, but the Bruins ultimately beat them with a 35 save performance from Jaroslav Halak.
Boston now turns its attention to a red-hot Chicago Blackhawks team before it heads out west to take on the struggling Anaheim Ducks and Kings.
Let’s take a look ahead to what the Bruins have going on this coming week.
Tuesday, Feb. 12 vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. ET
The Bruins start the week off with a huge tilt against the surging Chicago Blackhawks.
Although the Blackhawks are seventh in the Central Division, they are just seven points out of the second Wild Card spot in the West. The Blackhawks have won their last seven games and are looking to extend their streak when they come to TD Garden against a Bruins team that lacks secondary scoring.
Patrick Kane has a 14-game point streak and is looking to extend that when he comes to Boston on Tuesday. Kane is the Hawks’ leading scorer with 81 points (33 goals, 48 assists). Goaltender Cam Ward has played well lately but he’ll need some help from his struggling defense if Chicago wants to continue its win streak.
This will be the second and final time the Bruins and Blackhawks meet this season. The Bruins beat the Blackhawks 4-2 last month at Notre Dame Stadium in the Winter Classic.
Friday, Feb. 15 vs. Anaheim Ducks, 10 p.m. ET
The Bruins will take on take on the struggling Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
After a horrible stretch of games without a win, the Ducks fired head coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday. General manager Bob Murray was named interim head coach as the club searches for the ninth coach in its history. Carlyle was the winningest coach in Ducks history before being fired.
The Ducks are last in the Pacific Division and 28th in league standings. The not-so-mighty Ducks have lost their past seven games with their last victory coming Jan. 19. The Ducks will look to get back on track this week before their matchup with the B’s.
Ryan Getzlaf is the Ducks’ leading scorer with 36 points, and Jakob Silfverberg leads the team in goals with 12. Despite the team not playing well, goaltender John Gibson has been the rock of Anaheim. Gibson has a 2.93 goals-against average with a .914 save percentage.
This also will be the second and final matchup of the season between the Bruins and Ducks. Boston defeated Anaheim 3-1 on home ice back in December when David Pastrnak had a three-point night.
Saturday, Feb. 16 vs. Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Bruins will play the Los Angeles Kings on the second night of a back-to-back and will look to sweep the season series.
The Kings are second-to-last in the Pacific Division, sitting just ahead of the Ducks. Although the Kings are struggling, they aren’t too far out of a playoff spot.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar is the backbone of this team, leading the way with 41 points and 17 goals. Drew Doughty is the Kings’ highest-scoring defenseman with 30 points and five goals.
This also will be the second and final matchup between the Bruins and Kings with the Bruins looking to defeat L.A. once again. The B’s downed the Kings 5-4 in overtime last Saturday at TD Garden.
