The Boston Bruins are off to an incredible start to the season, and are looking to remain on their hot streak this week with two games against division rivals.
Boston is 5-1-0 through its first six games, including a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, a team pegged as one of the favorites out of the Western Conference. The B’s also have outscored their opponents 14-6 in the five victories, with the elusive top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand accounting for 10 of those tallies.
While the Bruins have enjoyed wins against teams like the Dallas Stars and Golden Knights, they now will be tasked with playing two tough teams that very well could be their opponents in the playoffs.
Let’s take a look at what’s on deck for the Bruins.
Thursday, Oct. 17 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 19 at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET
What You Need To Know
Many expected Tampa Bay and Boston to meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, but the Columbus Blue Jackets swept the Lightning in the first round. This will be the first time the B’s and Bolts meet this season, with Tampa Bay going 3-1-0 in the season series in 2018-19. The Lightning are 2-2-1 through five games and have a matchup with the 2-1-2 Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday before making their way to Boston.
As for the Maple Leafs, it likely will feel like a playoff game when the puck drops at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto once again had its Stanley Cup dreams crushed by Boston in a seven-game first-round series last season. The B’s were 3-1 in their four regular-season meetings with the Leafs last season. Toronto will play two more games, one at home against the Minnesota Wild and one on the road against the Washington Capitals, before taking on the Bruins.
Both Tampa Bay and Toronto have struggled a bit on the penalty kill (72.2 and 77.8 percent, respectively), while Boston’s 31.3 power-play percentage is fifth in the league. But the Bruins will need to play a full 60 minutes and put their second-period struggles behind them if they want to keep the momentum going this week.
Who Bruins Need To Watch Out For
Tampa Bay features four players with three goals and five with at least three assists. Despite imploding in last year’s playoffs, the Lightning still are a powerhouse that boasts the likes of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, among others. The Lightning have scored fewer than three goals just one time so far this season, so whether it’s Tuukka Rask or Jaroslav Halak between the pipes for Boston, they will need to be on their A-game in order to overcome Tampa’s loaded offense.
Toronto shook up its defense in the offseason, most notably adding Tyson Barrie one year after signing John Tavares to provide some reinforcement to the offense. Tavares already has five points through the team’s first five games, while Auston Matthews (six goals, one assist), Mitch Marner (two goals, four assists) and William Nylander (two goals, three assists) pose a consistent threat to put pucks on net. But Toronto has surrendered at least five goals on three occasions, including in a 7-3 loss to the Lightning. Backup goalie Michael Hutchinson boasts a slightly higher save percentage (.894) than Frederik Andersen (.886), so if Boston’s offense can continue hammering shots, it may spell bad news for the netminders.
