Minten, Bruins Beat Blackhawks in Overtime (10/9/25)

The bad news was Hampus Lindholm left tonight's Boston Bruins game with the Chicago Blackhawks with an apparent groin injury, the good news was the Bruins bounced back from a 2-1 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime in the home opener at TD Garden. Casey Mittelstadt scored his first goal as a Bruin but Connor Bedard and Louis Crevier scored to put Chicago ahead. Tanner Jeannot scored his first goal as a Bruin and Elias Lindholm scored on the powerplay to give the Bruins the lead. Andre Burakovsky scored to tie the game to send it to overtime. In overtime, Fraser Minten stole the puck and streaked to the net on a 2 on 1, scoring the game winner. The Bruins had won the game 4-3 in overtime at TD Garden.

                                                  Indica Fetish approves of the win

The Blackhawks put four shots on Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo in the early goings but the Bruins struck first. Viktor Arvidsson put the puck on the Blackhawks net and it was saved by Arvid Soderblom. Casey Mittelstadt took the rebound and fired it past Soderblom to put the Bruins on top 3:53 into the period. Wit just over 8 minutes left, Connor Bedard took a dish from Andre Burakovsky in the slot and fired past Korpisalo to tie the game. Not too long after, Hampus Lindholm left the game and never returned. With 7 minutes left in the first, Jason Dickinson was whistled for tripping to put the Bruins on the powerplay. They failed to score and David Pastrnak was called for slashing with 5:54 left in the period. The Bruins killed it off and went into the break tied 1-1.

                                                     Mittelstadt scores

The Blackhawks struck first in the second wit 2:19 gone. Old friend Nick Foligno won the faceoff back to Connor Bedard who passed it to Lou Crevier. A simple wrister found its way through and the Hawks had the lead. Crevier nearly had enough one 8 minutes into the period but Korpisalo kicked it out. With 11 minutes left in the period, Michael Eyssimont threw the puck on net. Soderblom kicked it out but Tanner Jeannot scored his first goal as a Bruin on the rebound to tie the game. With 6:52 left, Marat Khusnutdinov got bagged for high sticking to put Chicago on the power play. The Bruins defense held the fort and Chicago was now 0 for 2. With 2:46 left in the period, Sam Rinzel had a wide open shot from the slot but Korpisalo robbed him. The Hawks made a big boo boo with 1:12 left when Foligno flipped the puck out for a delay of game penalty as Ryan Greene cross checked Fraser Minten for the double minor 5 on 3. The Bruins failed to score but still had 48 seconds of 5 on 3 as they went into the break tied 2-2.

                                                            First for Jeannot

Starting the third period on a 5 on 3, just 15 seconds in David Pastrnak passed it to Pavel Zacha down low. Zacha sent it to Elias Lindholm who pounded it in for the power play goal to put the Bruins on top. Lindholm almost had a second goal but Soderblom made a huge save to end the second power play. The lead didn't last as two minutes later, the Hawks caught the Bruins on a 4 on 3. Frank Nazar sent it over to Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov sent it to Burakovsky in the slot who shot it past Korpisalo to tie the game. Just four minutes into the period, Nazar got caught for tripping to put the Bruins on another power play. The Bruins failed to score and Charlie McAvoy got robbed just 8 minutes into the period by Soderblom. With 10:10 remaining, McAvoy got bagged for interference to put the Hawks on the power play. One minute into the penalty kill, Nikita Zadorov crushed Sam Rinzel against the boards. With 5 seconds left on the power play, Korpisalo covered it up and Zadorov pushed Nazar from behind for a cross check. Nazar turned around and socked him to earn a roughing penalty which drew the ire of Kuraly and Levshunov. Those two exchanged unpleasantries and both got called for roughing as well. In essence the Bruins were now 3-0 on the PK in this game. With 6:30 left the Bruins had a 3 on 1 and Minten passed to a wide open Jeannot....saved by Soderblom. With 2:42 left, Levshunov was sent to the penalty box for high sticking. The Blackhawks killed it off and it was on to overtime. At least the Bruins got one point out of this game tied 3-3.

                                                    Another goal for Lindholm

46 seconds into overtime Connor Bedard skated into the slot and passed to Rinzel. Rinzel found Nazar all alone in front of the net. Korpisalo BARELY got his stick on it to save the game. A few moments later the Blackhawks had a 2 on none and Korpisalo robbed Bedard. With 3 minutes left in OT, Minten skated out of a scrum with the puck with Morgan Geekie beside him. Minten took the shot himself.....SCOREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! THE BRUINS WIN 4-3 IN OVERTIME!

                                                                   Bruins win

End Rant:

After the game, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm announced that Hampus Lindholm did NOT injure his knee again, so that's a bullet dodged. Otherwise, what a game! Korpisalo let in some softies but made two absolutely "gotta have it" saves in overtime to keep it going. Bruins scouts supposedly pushed for Fraser Minten in the trade for Brandon Carlo last year and it paid off tonight. Minten's first game winner came at a great time with the Bruins on the second night of a back to back. Tanner Jeannot and Casey Mittelstadt both found the net, but more importantly, so did Elias Lindholm again. He was supposed to be their big free agent acquisition last season expecting him to perform like he did in 2022. So far this year he has 2 goals in 2 games, off to a great start. Once again, the Bruins are expected to stink like old garbage this season so enjoy wins like this while you can. Then again, if Jeremy Swayman stands on his head and Korpisalo makes saves like he did tonight, they might actually be better than expected. The Bruins look to make it 3 wins in a row this Saturday night against the Buffalo Sabres. The game begins at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

Bruins Drop Capitals in Season Opener (10/8/25)

After last season's disaster, most Boston Bruin fans don't have much faith in this year's team. Still, for one night anyway the Bruins got off to a great start to the 2025-26 season, defeating the Washington Capitals on the road. The Bruins defense were the stars of this one, killing off five penalties and holding the Caps to one goal. Jeremy Swayman looked to put last season behind him by stopping 35 of 36 shots thrown his way. David Pastrnak got things going with a second period goal to make it 1-0 but a Tom Wilson deflection tied it with 13 minutes left in the third period. The much maligned Elias Lindholm answered just 38 seconds later to give the Bruins the lead back. The Capitals spent the last few minutes playing dump and chase with Pastrnak setting up Morgan Geekie for the empty netter. There's 81 games still to play, but tonight the Bruins are undefeated with their 3-1 victory over the Capitals at Capital One Arena.

                                                         Kendra Lust approves of the win

Both teams shared a laugh 7 seconds into the game when Alex Ovechkin launched a puck into the Bruins bench which had new head coach Marco Sturm ducking for his life. David Pastrnak took the first Bruins penalty of the season less than two minutes into the game when he and Tom Wilson pretty much hooked each other but Tom got the hometown call. Ovechkin fed Wilson in front on the power-play but Swayman snuffed it out. Jakob Chycrun had a wide open look but Swayman stopped that one too. The Bruins killed it off but disaster almost struck with 5:10 gone. Hampus Lindholm skated into the crease and tried to clear the puck, but whiffed on it and it damn near squirted past Swayman. Nic Dowd poked at it but Swayman had it covered. Trevor van Riemsdyk snatched up Mark Kastelic for an interference call 6:46 into the period to put the Bruins on their first powerplay. Pastrnak fed a wide open Geekie for a one timer but Logan Thompson sent it away. Casey Mittelstadt almost put it in off a skate but Thompson stoned it. The power play ended with nothing else happening. Halfway through the first period Anthony Beauvillier put one on net but it was stick saved by Swayman. Tanner Jeannot drilled Anthony for that treachery. The returning Sean Kuraly put one on Thompson but it was saved. Viktor Arvidsson put it on net with 7 minutes left but Thompson deflected it. Charlie McAvoy dropped Brandon Duhaime but Kuraly was whistled for interference on Nic Dowd with 6:54 remaining in the period. Jeannot nearly had a breakaway goal on the penalty kill but Thompson saved it. The Caps got just one redirect on that power play and the Bruins killed it off. With 4:30 left Elias Lindholm had a wide open one timer but passed it to Geekie who was stoned by Thompson. One pass too many there. With 2 minutes left the legendary Ovechkin was robbed by Swayman before being decked by McAvoy. Pastrnak was set up by Geekie in the slot but the shot went over everything with just over a minute left in the period. Henri Jokiharju cross-checked Duhaine from behind with 46 seconds left to put the Capitals on the power play again. The Capitals failed to score and the Bruins ended the period tied with no score.

                                                "Stop taking stupid penalties!" - Sturm

The second period began with the Bruins on the penalty kill and just 19 seconds into it, McAvoy was whistled for tripping to give the Capitals a 5 on 3 for a full minute. Somehow the Caps failed to score and Jokiharju made a mad dash out of the box as Swayman stopped Wilson cold. The Bruins managed to kill it off to go to 4-0 on the PK. The Caps still had a 12-4 shot advantage 5 minutes into the second period when Thompson robbed Kastelic of a backhand shot. Swayman robbed Nic Dowd of a wide open breakaway with 13:33 but Arvidsson was also robbed of a breakaway by Thompson. Wilson cleaned out Mason Lohrei on a big hit but Mason shook it off. The Bruins finally hit paydirt with 8 minutes left in the second. Nikita Zadorov passed it to Pastrnak who fired at the net....SCORE! Hampus Lindholm parked his carcass in front of Thompson for the screen to allow Pasta's shot to go in for the first goal of the season. 35 seconds later Kastelic was called for tripping to put Washington on the power play again. The Bruins managed to kill it off and Swayman stopped two big shots. The Bruins defense kept Washington at bay and the period ended with Boston ahead 1-0.

                                                          Bruins take the lead

The Capitals had 28 shots and five powerplays with 13 minutes left in the game but no goals to show for it. That changed when Jakob Chychrun found Tom Wilson in the slot, who went top self to tie the game. The Bruins caught a break when John Carlson was called for holding a few seconds after the faceoff. Just 38 seconds after the Caps scored, Elias Lindholm said "Wait, you actually thought you were going to keep the game tied? Hahaha sit down son." Pastrnak streaked toward the goal to draw in defenders, then slipped the puck to Lindholm for the power play goal to put the Bruins back on top. The Bruins defense stopped every attempt after that to get into the zone and got another chance with 6:53 left. Marat Khusnutdinov streaked in alone but Thompson stopped the shot. With five minutes left the Capitals started playing "dump & chase" and the Bruins kept beating them to the puck. With 3 minutes left, Wilson knocked Hampus Lindholm's helmet off for some old time hockey. With the goalie pulled, the Caps swarmed the Bruins net but with a minute left, Elias Lindholm won the faceoff. Pastrnak ended up with it and passed to Morgan Geekie for the wide open empty net goal to ice it. The Capitals failed to score again and the Bruins had won the game 3-1.

                                                                        Bruins win

End Rant:

The Bruins aren't going to win too many games this season unless they play nearly flawless defense like they did in this one. They essentially had to grind out 2 goals but the good news is Swayman looked like himself. Having a full training camp with McAvoy and Lindholm healthy definitely made a difference. The Bruins might have to play like those brutal New Jersey Devils teams that tried to win every game 1-0 or 2-1. It won't be pretty, but if it works, a win is a win. Pastrnak scored or assisted all three goals and he's going to have to turn into a superman if the Bruins want to make the playoffs. Still, that was a good effort all around and going 5-0 on the penalty kill was impressive. Hats off to Elias Lindholm for getting the go-ahead goal. This isn't the 2018 Capitals but a win is a win. The Bruins come home tomorrow night for their home opener against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The game begins at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.

2025-26 Boston Bruins Preview (10/7/25)

Its another season of Bawful Bruins Hockey and it doesn't look like this year's Boston Bruins will be any good. Cam Neely and Don Sweeney are clearly playing for next year with this year's roster to begin the season. So here's who we got in the starting lineup.

1st Line:

Left Wing - Morgan Geekie

                                                                LW - Morgan Geekie

For the second year in a row the Bruins are banking their first line success on Morgan Geekie, as unfair as that sounds. Still, he burst on the scene in 2024 with 17 goals and 22 assists on a team that was reeling from the loss of a lot of skill players following the 2023 disaster. He even put up 4 goals and an assist in 13 playoff games. Last year he broke out on a bad team with 33 goals and 24 assists. That would be perfect for the second line but unfortunately this team has a dearth of talent. Still, 33 goals is no joke and another season like that would be nice.

Center - Elias Lindholm

                                                             C - Elias Lindholm

Boston's biggest free agent acquisition off-season last season was nowhere near the player he was in 2022 when he put up 42 goals and 40 assists while coming in second behind Patrice Bergeron for the Selke Trophy. In 2025 he scored just 17 goals and assisted on 30 going from a +61 to a -4 in just three years. If the reason is physical decline, that's on Sweeney and Neely for getting him 3 years too late. Still, if he can rediscover his form he had in Calgary, the Bruins MIGHT be able to squeak into the playoffs.

Right Wing - David Pastrnak

                                                          RW - David Pastrnak

The only star left from 2023 is right winger David Pastrnak. 2023's Hart Trophy runner up has seen the losses of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Taylor Hall, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci and Charlie Coyle.. Last year Pastrnak did the best he could on a bad team, finishing with 43 goals and 63 assists. If Elias. Lindholm can play anywhere close like he did in Calgary, this line could be deadly. If not, then Pastrnak will just put up points on a bad team.

2nd Line:

Left Wing - Pavel Zacha

                                                               LW - Pavel Zacha

Its a shame the Bruins turned out the way they did last year because Pavel Zacha's career was revitalized in 2023. Drafted 6th overall in the infamous 2015 NHL Draft, Zacha was a titanic bust for the New Jersey Devils before becoming an unsung hero of the 2023 team with 21 goals and 36 assists. After putting up a similar season in 2024, he regressed in 2025 with just 14 goals and 33 assists. Losing Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle didn't help when the lines went haywire after the deadline. It doesn't look like this year will be any better considering who his linemates are. He might be trade bait come February if this team nosedives.

Center - Casey Mittelstadt

                                                         C - Casey Mittlestadt

Through no fault of his own, the fact that Casey Mittlestadt is the Bruins second line center is an out and out disgrace. He wouldn't have been on the fourth line back in 2023 and now he's got to anchor a line that might determine if the Bruins make the playoffs or not. Middlestadt, like Zacha, was the 8th overall pick by Buffalo back in 2017 and has been a titanic bust as well. Traded to the Bruins as part of the package for Charlie Coyle, he had just 11 goals and 23 assists in Colorado before putting up a whopping 4 goals and 2 assists in 18 games in Boston. The bottom line is its not Casey's fault he's on a line he's not suited for, its the Bruins front office devoting too much cap space to the wrong guys. Maybe he'll have a good season this year, who knows?

Right Wing - Viktor Arvidsson

                                                        RW - Viktor Arvidsson

If getting Elias Lindholm 3 years late wasn't bad enough, the Bruins big trade this past summer was sending a 5th round pick in the 2027 draft to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Viktor Arvidsson. Viktor looked like he was about to be Nashville's breakout star with 94 goals and 76 assists between 2017-19 but he hasn't come close to those numbers since. He did put up 59 points in 2023 with the Los Angeles Kings but only played 18 games due to injuries in 2024. Last year for the Stanley Cup Finalist Edmonton Oilers he had just 15 goals and 12 assists while playing in just 15 of their 22 playoff games. If the Oilers that came within an eyelash of the Stanley Cup pretty much hangs a sign on a guy that says "please take", you know something's wrong. Still, you never know. Maybe Viktor will turn it around this season on a team with no expectations.

3rd Line:

Left Wing - Tanner Jeannot

                                                          LW - Tanner Jeannot

Speaking of guys picked up from Nashville 3 years too late, the Bruins starting third line left winger is Tanner Jeannot. Jeannot looked like a breakout star in 2022 with 24 goals and 17 assists for the Predators. He's scored just 20 goals since in the previous years. Once again, you gotta wonder what goes through the minds of Don Sweeney and Cam Neely when they see Tanner Jeannot fall off a cliff after 2022 and say "Ooooh we need THAT guy!" Then again, they didn't get him because of his offensive talent. They got him to bash some skulls in with his 403 career penalty minutes. Now if the Bruins had better talent on the top 2 lines, this would be the perfect compliment. Unfortunately, the Bruins need offense.

Center - Fraser Minten

                                                                C - Fraser Minten

The one good move most people agreed with during last year's fire sale was trading Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a first round pick in the 2026 draft and 20 year old prospect Fraser Minten. Fans of Steve Dangle remember Minten from Steve's Big PP (Prospect Pyramid) where he wasn't supposed to turn into an elite player, but was still supposed to be serviceable. As a 20 year old. he played in 6 games after the trade to Boston and scored a goal. Hopefully he can turn into a star because the Bruins are thin in terms of young talent. We're going to see what he's made of this year, that's for sure.

Right Wing - Michael Eyssimont

                                                         RW - Michael Eyssimont

One thing Sweeney and Neely wanted to improve on during the off-season was team toughness. Last year they had Mark Kastelic and not much else. He rectified that by signing 29 year old Michael Eyssimont as a free agent. Eyssimont's goal isn't to put the puck in the net, although he did score 9 goals last season. His mission is to protect Fraser Minten and beat the crap out of people. He had 104 penalty minutes in 2024 and 63 last season. The Bruins may not score many goals this season, but they want to make the other team earn theirs by having to get through Jeannot, Kastelic and Eyssimont.

4th Line:

Right Wing - Marat Khusnutdinov

                                                               RW - Marat Khusnutdinov

The fourth line is pretty much interchangeable and probably won't feature the same guys all season. Their right winger to start will be 22 year old Russian Marat Khusnutdinov. He had 2 goals and 5 assists for the Minnesota Wild when he was included in the package deal at the deadline last year for Justin Brazeau. He scored 3 goals and assisted on 2 more to finish the season. The fact that this guy made the team over guys like Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell shows just how AWFUL Sweeney and Neely are at drafting. Strictly bottom of the barrel here.

Center - Sean Kuraly

                                                              C - Sean Kuraly

Oh look, the Bruins brought Sean Kuraly back. Kuraly was a fourth line grinder that became an unsung hero on the 2019 Stanley Cup Final run and scored the double overtime game winner against Ottawa in 2017. Unfortunately those runs were long ago and now its a down year. Kuraly isn't going to light the world on fire but at least he's a familiar face after spending 5 years before moving on. Unfortunately this team needs talent, not nostalgia.

Right Wing - Mark Kastelic

                                                               RW - Mark Kastelic

The Bruins shot themselves in the foot in the 2024 off-season when they traded Linus Ullmark of Goalie Hug INC to the Ottawa Senators for a first round pick, Joonas Korpisalo and Mark Kastelic. The only bright side of the trade was Kastelic. On a team needing nastiness, he was the perfect Bruin. He scored 5 goals with 9 assists but amassed 106 penalty minutes. On a team with actual talent, he'd be their Shawn Thornton or PJ Stock. Still, last year he had to do it alone. This year he has Jeannot and Eyssimont to help him out. Maybe he'll score a few more goals this year, who knows?

Defense pairing 1:

Left Defense - Mason Lohrei

                                                          LD - Mason Lohrei

After Zdeno Chara left, the Bruins needed someone to step up with Charlie McAvoy becoming the #1 d-man. It took a few years but it looks like Mason Lohrei is a budding player. In 2024 he scored 4 goals and put up 9 assists but last year he scored 5 goals with 28 assists. If the Bruins powerplay isn't completely useless, and if Hampus Lindholm is healthy, Lohrei's assist numbers might be even better this year. That's a big if, though. If he falters, can't say anyone would be surprised.

Right Defense - Charlie McAvoy

                                                               RD - Charlie McAvoy

One of the reasons the Bruins crashed and burned last season was the injury to Charlie McAvoy. The Bruins had already lost Hampus Lindholm for the season but Charlie played his last game on February 8th. Naturally the B's dropped like a dead deer leading to the fire sale. When healthy, Charlie is one of the better defensemen in the game, taking 4th place in the Norris Trophy race in 2022. Fully healthy, the Bruins should be better defensively this season. Just pray Lindholm or Lohrei doesn't get hurt.

Defense Pairing 2:

Left Defense - Hampus Lindholm

                                                         LD - Hampus Lindholm

Like Charlie McAvoy, one of the big reasons the Bruins crashed and burned last season was the season ending injury to Hampus Lindholm after just 17 games. Lindholm was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline and took 4th place in the Norris Trophy voting in 2023 apart of the regular season juggernaut. He regressed in 2024 with just 3 goals all season but was bouncing back in 2025 when his season was cut short. If he comes back healthy this season, the Bruins will at least be better defensively. One of the reasons Jim Montgomery was fired as them losing BADLY in November and December. Still, it would be nice to have some insurance in case someone goes down again.

Right Defense - Andrew Peeke

                                                         RD - Andrew Peeke

When the Bruins picked up Andrew Peeke at the 2024 deadline, the guy they gave up was Jakob Zboril of the infamous 2015 draft. Peeke has scored exactly one goal in 91 games with the Bruins showing that draft was toxic in more ways than one. Still, as long as he keeps the puck out of the net, any offense is secondary. The Bruins haven't had a defensive shutdown specialist since Dennis Seidenberg, would be nice for Peeke to settle into that role.

Defensive Pairing 3:

Left Defense - Nikita Zadorov

                                                             LD - Nikita Zadorov

Its put up or shut up time for Zadorov. The Bruins signed him to a massive contract for the 2025 season and he didn't even come close to the type of player the Bruins needed. The B's haven't had a bruiser that could score since Zdeno Chara left town and Zadorov wasn't that guy at all. He did lead the team in penalty minutes, but that was more taking stupid penalties than actual toughness. The Bruins gave up a lot of power play goals with him in the box and that has to change big time. With expectations low this year, maybe Zadorov will play better now that he's had a year to adjust. Just stay out of the damn box.

Right Defense - Henri Jokiharju

                                                           RD - Henri Jokiharju

After the injury to Charlie McAvoy ended his season, the Bruins sent a 4th round pick in 2026 to the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Henri Jokiharju. Jokiharju scored no goals in 18 games and is strictly depth. His best season after coming up with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019 was in 2024 where he had a whopping 20 points for the Sabres. If the Bruins had anybody better, they'd be in this spot. Will he be any good? Who the hell knows.

Goalies:

Starting Goalie - Jeremy Swayman

                                                         G - Jeremy Swayman

Basically the 2025 season rode on Jeremy Swayman and he pretty much crumbled. He spent 3 years in the tag team of Goalie Hug INC with Linus Ullmark until Linus was traded after the 2024 season for Joonas Korpisalo. Swayman held out for more money and got paid a king's ransom....but missed training camp. Swayman never got out of the box, going from a .916 save percentage in 2024 to a miserable .892 last season. He led the league in goals allowed and clearly he missed Ullmark as much as he missed training camp. With a full off-season to rest with no playoffs and a full training camp, this year there's no excuse. He has to prove he's worth the 8 million dollar contract or else the Bruins are stuck with TWO albatross goalie contracts. 

Backup Goalie - Joonas Korpisalo

                                                                 G - Joonas Korpisalo

The downfall of the Boston Bruins can be traced back to a singular moment. On June 24, 2024 the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a first round pick, Mark Kastelic and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Why was this a monumental mistake? Not only did it break up Goalie Hug INC but Korpisalo was the worst goalie contract in the league. A fringe backup goalie with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings signed for 5 years and 20 million dollars with Ottawa prior to the 2024 season. He was 21-26 with Ottawa and for some ungodly reason, the Bruins took on the god-awful contract. Last year he was as bad as advertised, going 11-10 with an .893 save percentage. With 3 years remaining on the deal, he's not going anywhere. The best the Bruins can hope for is Jeremy Swayman returns to form. Otherwise, they're headed to another losing season.

Healthy Scratches:

Defenseman - Jordan Harris

                                                                      D - Jordan Harris

Starting the season in the press box will be 25 year old defenseman Jordan Harris of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The star of Northeastern University was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and played 131 games for them before ending the 2025 season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's a fringe player at best but since he's a local yokel, maybe he'll sell some tickets on the games he plays.

Forwards:

Center - John Beecher

                                                            C - Beecher

More proof that Neely and Sweeney suck at drafting. Beecher was the Bruins first round pick in 2019 and didn't make his NHL debut until the 2024 season, putting up just 10 points in 52 games. Last year in 78 games he put up a whopping 11 points. This year, he wasn't even good enough to make the opening night roster. He definitely will play this season due to injuries and ineffectiveness, but the fact he can barely crack a roster is concerning. If the Bruins stink this year, how can we trust the Bruins front office to make the right decision in the draft when they never do?

Left Wing - Jeffrey Viel

                                                          LW - Jeffrey Viel

Just in case the Bruins need another cement head, they have Jeffrey Viel ready to roll. Viel played 34 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2022 and amassed 114 penalty minutes. He's been an AHL goon the previous two seasons. If something happens to Kastelic, Jeannot or Eyssimont, they have Viel ready to throw hands. At least THAT would be entertaining.

Head Coach - Marco Sturm

                                                        HC - Marco Sturm

It wouldn't be "The Boys Club" for the Boston Bruins without one of their "boys" as head coach. After Jim Montgomery was unceremoniously dumped and shuffled off to St. Louis, Joe Sacco filled in admirably. After the season the Bruins needed a real head coach and tabbed.....their former 2008 playoff hero Marco Sturm. Fans remember his scintillating goal in Game 6 against Montreal that literally shook the TD Garden before knee injuries ruined his career. Still, he's spent the last 3 season coaching the AHL's Ontario Reign where they at least got to the second round in in 2024. Not exactly a "local yokel" but still known to Bruins fans during his time as a player. Not sure what he's going to bring to the table besides an impeccable suit & tie.

All in all the Bruins have all the makings of a team that's going to miss the playoffs again unless Swayman stands on his head. Their offense isn't good enough and their defense isn't anything special either. If Swayman rediscovers his form he showed in 2023-24, they might end up a 7th or 8th seed. Otherwise, expect the lottery again.

Bruins Rally Past Flyers in Overtime (12/7/24)

For two periods it appeared the Boston Bruins were sleepwalking through today's Saturday matinee tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers came out swinging in the first period, scoring two goals with b both scored by Matvei Michkov. Trent Frederic scored a power play goal in the second period to cut the lead but Cam York scored to put the Flyers up 3-1 going into the third period. Then the Bruins rallied with goals from Frederic again and Brad Marchand to send the game to sudden death overtime. There, Pavel Zacha did the honors with the goal to win the game. The Bruins rallied down 2-0 and 3-1 to win 4-3 in overtime at TD Garden.

                                                               Happy Bruins

The Flyers made the first mistake taking a too many men on the ice penalty just 1:41 into the game. Charlie McAvoy passed to David Pastrnak but his shot was saved by Philly goalie Aleksei Kolosov. Both Nikita Zadorov and Charlie Coyle were stopped by Kolosov as well. Pastrnak set up another shot by McAvoy but Kolosov saved that tpo. Brad Marchand tried to whack the rebound in but the puck hit the post to end the power play. Andrew Peeke got a shot off but it was denied with 15:27 left in the period. Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman kicked out a couple of shots on the ensuing rush the other way. With 14:06 left in the period, Ryan Poehling passed to a wide open Garnet Hathaway but Swayman made a big save. Disaster struck when Mark Kastelic got bagged for tripping with 12:47 left in the period. Just 10 seconds later, Emil Andrae blasted a shot off Swayman from the point. Sean Couturier poked the puck to Matvei Michkov who scored the power play goal to put Philly on top. 18 seconds later, Cameron York was sent to the box for slashing. Pastrnak set up a streaking Marchand but Kolosov blocked the shot on the power play. Marc McLaughlin was also robbed by Kolosov and with 6 minutes left in the period, Justin Brazeau set up Pavel Zacha. Kolosov made the save and disaster struck again with just under two minutes remaining. Travis Sanheim threw the puck across the ice to a wide open Michkov who scored again to put the Flyers up by two going into intermission, 2-0.

                                                          Flyers take the lead

The Bruins began their comeback when York was sent to the box 3:32 into the second period for tripping. About a minute later, Andrae and McAvoy were sent to the box with matching roughing minors. 5:15 into the period, Brazeau set up Morgan Geekie but Kolosov made the save. Geekie dug the puck out of a scrum who passed it back to Mason Lohrei. Lohrei's shot on net was tipped home by Trent Frederic for the goal 5:26 into the period. Halfway through the period, Swayman was knocked on his ass and still made a glove save on a Sanheim slapshot. With 4:31 left in the period, Travis Konecny dug the puck out for Sanheim to take it. Sanheim dished to an open York who scored to put the Flyers back up by two goals. With 3:29 left, McAvoy tripped up Owen Tippett and Tippett didn't take kindly to it. McAvoy and Tippett got matching roughing penalties but the Flyers were on the power play. The Bruins managed to kill it off but still trailed 3-1 going into the third.

                                               "Want a piece of me??"

The Bruins suddenly came to life in the third period with 14:34 left in the game. Kastelic's puck was deflected to Charlie Coyle. Coyle left the puck for Frederic, who scored his second goal of the game to pull the Bruins within one. Forty-seven seconds later, Konecny was sent off for interference to put the Bruins on the power play. Zacha passed it to Elias Lindholm who left the puck to Marchand. Marchand's shot was denied by Kolosov. The Flyers killed it off, but with 9:27 left, old friend Hathaway was sent to the box for tripping. Once again the Bruins failed to score and things looked bleak. Suddenly, with 5:22 left, Brazeau took the puck and flipped it up the ice. Marchand broke away from Tyler Foerster, shot and scored to tie the game. The Bruins had a chance to win the game when Couturier was whistled for tripping with 1:57 left. The Bruins failed to score and we headed to overtime.

                                                            Bruins tie it up

The Bruins had just 3 seconds of power play time before things went back to normal. Things looked bad when Joel Farabee bum rushed Lindholm off the puck for a breakaway. Somehow Swayman saved the shot to keep the game going with just under 3 minutes left in overtime. With 2:11 left, Pastrnak drew two defenders from behind the net and passed to a wide open Zacha in the slot. Zacha buried it and the Bruins had rallied to win in overtime 4-3.

                                                             Bruins win!

Reaction:

How about Pavel "Sudden Death" Zacha? That's two game winning overtime goals in the Joe Sacco era and they desperately needed the second point to keep pace with the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins needed a win like that too after falling behind by two goals twice. You don't want to see them step on their collective dicks like that but it shows serious balls not to give up and still pull the game out. Swayman stepped up after the third goal and held Philly scoreless the rest of the way. Swayman's save in overtime was just as big as Zacha's goal. The Bruins were 1 for 6 on the power play and Sacco needs to make some changes because this is reaching 2011 Bruins against Montreal bad. A lot of fans are grumbling that the Bruins are beating bad teams to win seven of nine but better to win than lose. They still got the god awful west coast trip coming up as well, getting some wins there should settle the restless natives. The win improved the Bruins to 15-11-3, good for 33 points, 3 points behind the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic. The Bruins look to make it five wins in a row this Tuesday night when they travel all the way to Winnipeg to play the Jets. The game begins at 8:00 PM Eastern time at Canada Life Centre.

Bruins Hold Off Blackhawks (12/4/24)

The Chicago Blackhawks have a bright future ahead with Connor Bedard but until they got more talent, they'll fall victim to teams like the Boston Bruins. Under Joe Sacco, the Bruins have turned it up defensively and don't rely on just David Pastrnak for offense. Tonight's game it was the Brad Marchand and Morgan Geekie show. Geekie and Marchand scored two goals apiece to pace the offense although Pastrnak assisted on both Marchand goals. The Bruins defense held the Blackhawks to just 22 shots and Jeremy Swayman was able to stop 20 of them. The Hawks scored first just 83 seconds into the game but Geekie scored to tie the game heading to the second period. Marchand scored twice to increase the lead but Jason Dickinson scored with 97 seconds left to end the period. Geekie scored five minutes into the third period and the defense held up. The Bruins had won both games of the back-to-back including this one 4-2 over the Blackhawks at TD Garden.

                                                            The Captain leads the way

The Blackhawks got the first chance in the first period as Lukas Reichel skated right past Pavel Zacha and Jordan Oesterle, but Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman blocked the shot. The Hawks struck first when Connor Murphy passed to old buddy Nick Foligno. Foligno skated around the net and passed to Alex Vlasic in the slot. Vlasic scored and the Hawks were up 1-0 just 1:23 into the game. The Bruins first shot didn't come until 2:40 into the game when Cole Koepke passed back to Oesterle for a one timer, stopped by Hawks goalie Peter Mrazek. The Bruins got the first power play when Murphy flipped the puck out of the arena for a delay of game penalty 4:50 into the period. Elias Lindholm jammed it on net but Marchand and Zacha couldn't get it in. Charlie McAvoy's slapshot was also stopped by Mrazek. With 7:43 left in the period, Oesterle passed down low to Justin Brazeau. He passed back to Geekie who fired it off Mrazek. Mrazek never saw the puck squirt behind him and Geekie jammed it in to tie the game. Just over a minute later, John Beecher was sent to the box for tripping. On the power play, Vlasic passed down low to Teuvo Teravainen but Swayman stopped the shot attempt. Old friend Ryan Donato was also denied by Swayman to end the power play threat. With 4:18 left in the first, Charlie Coyle walked in alone but was stopped by Mrazek. The Bruins missed a goal by inches with 14 seconds left when Lindholm passed it to Marchand who fired it past Mrazek....off the post. The puck squirted under Mrazek but bounced an inch too far to the right. The Bruins did get a power play out of it because Wyatt Kaiser swept the puck out of the way and crashed into the net for a delay of game penalty. The Bruins went into the break tied at 1-1.

                                                        Geekie fires it home

The Bruins started the second period on the power play and Mrazek came up big for Chicago. Pastrnak fired it on net and Lindholm had a shot at the rebound but Peter stopped him cold. Pastrnak had another shot at it but Mrazek made the save to kill off the penalty. Another old friend Tyler Bertuzzi fired a slapshot but Swayman saved it using his head. With just under three minutes gone in the second period, Mason Lohrei passed low to Pastrnak. Pastrnak saw Marchand open in his usual slot and Brad scored his ninth goal of the season to put the Bruins ahead. Just three minutes later, Oesterle passed the puck to Pastrnak shot the puck off Mrazek and Marchand backhanded the rebound in for his second goal of the game. With 8:37 left in the period, Geekie fired on net and Zacha just missed putting the rebound in. With 4:52 left, Nikita Zadorov was called for holding and the Blackhawks went on the power play. The Bruins killed it off but disaster struck with 1:37 left in the period. Murphy passed it to Ilya Mikheyev who then passed to Jason Dickinson. Dickinson fired on net....goal! The Bruins had to settle for going into the third period up 3-2.

                                                          Bruins still had the lead

The game essentially was on five minutes into the third period. Lohrei blocked a shot by Reichel and Brazeau corralled the puck. He fired it up the ice to Geekie on a breakaway. Geekie moved in, shot and scored to put the Bruins up by two with just under 15 minutes to go. Ninety seconds later Swayman made a huge stop on a Bedard partial breakaway that had Connor so mad that he broke his own stick on the bench. With 11 minutes left in the game, Mikheyev was called for tripping to put the Bruins on the power play. McAvoy's slapshot beat Mrazek clean but it hit off the crossbar. Other than that, the Bruins failed to score. Coyle and Brazeau both were robbed by Mrazek as well. With 5:44 left it looked like Bedard high sticked Marchand and the slow motion replay showed that Brad might have embellished a little but the stick still made contact. The Bruins basically kept the puck away for two minutes to fail on the power play but maintain the two goal lead. The Blackhawks circled the net but made a fatal mistake when they had too many men on the ice with 1:45 left. They couldn't use the man advantage for the rest of the period and the Bruins had won the game 4-2.

                                                                      Bruins win

Reaction:

The Blackhawks are a bad team and the Bruins have definitely taken advantage of their currently soft schedule, but these are the teams you need to beat. The Joe Sacco Bruins have won 5 of their last 7 games since Jim Montgomery shuffled off to St. Louis and 10 points is 10 points no matter who its against. The Bruins are still behind the Florida Panthers but the gap is closing as they're suffering from a small Stanley Cup hangover. Once the Bruins get Hampus Lindholm back, their defense should be bolstered without having to rely on the Jordan Oesterle's of the world, although he did get a big assist tonight. The Bruins are still a couple of forwards away from competing for the Stanley Cup but isn't that always the case? The win improved the Bruins to 14-11-3, good for 31 points and just 3 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins return to action this Saturday afternoon for a matinee tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers. The game begins at 1:00 PM at TD Garden.

Bruins Rally To Beat Detroit In OT (12/3/24)

The Joe Sacco era is off to a great start as the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings tonight in overtime to improve Joe to 5-2 as Bruins coach. The Red Wings struck first in tonight's game when Lucas Raymond beat Joonas Korpisalo in the first period but the Bruins tied it when Nikita Zadorov's blast from the blue line slipped past Detroit goalie Ville Husso. It looked like Detroit took the lead in the second period when Raymond scored again but the alert Sacco challenged the goal. Sure enough, the goal didn't count and the game remained tied until the third period. Raymond scored his official second goal just a minute into the third period and it looked like Boston was headed to a bitter defeat. Instead, Justin Brazeau scored on the power play to tie up the game. The game plunged into overtime and David Pastrnak set up Pavel Zacha's blast to end the game. The Bruins had won it 3-2 in overtime at the TD Garden.

                                                           Zacha wins it for Boston

Alex DeBrincat got the first scoring chance of the game one minute into the game but Joonas Korpisalo made the save. Simon Edvinsson also fired on net but it was stopped by Joonas. Just over three minutes into the game, Cole Koepke passed to Marc McLaughlin who's shot was saved by Detroit goalie Ville Husso. A minute later, Mark Kastelic nearly tipped one in but Husso made the save. Then disaster struck when Edvinsson threw the puck off Charlie McAvoy's skate right to Lucas Raymond who fired the puck past Korpisalo to give Detroit the lead 7:31 into the period. Less than two minutes later, Brad Marchand back handed a pass to Nikita Zadorov who's one time blast went through Husso to tie the game. With 2 minutes left in the period, Jeff Petry was called for holding to put the Bruins on the power play. The Bruins failed to score and they headed to intermission tied 1-1.

                                                A slapshot goal from a defender named Z

The second period was a stalemate although Kastelic had a rebound go right to him in front of the net, but he failed to score eight minutes into the period. Charlie Coyle got called for tripping with 8:52 left in the period and it looked like Marco Kasper scored a power play goal on a tip in. Bruins coach Joe Sacco challenged that the Red Wings were offsides. The refs looked at the replay and sure enough, the goal was overturned. Things got a little chippy when Zadorov got sent to the box for slashing with 5:51 left and almost as soon as he got out of the box, Ben Chiarot told him "its go time." They both got matching double minors and Zadorov managed to get six penalty minutes in just over two minutes. Korpisalo robbed JT Compher and then Petry also was stopped. We then had four on four action to end the period as Brandon Carlo went off for interference while Compher went off for holding. Pastrnak had a breakaway with 45 seconds left but Hossa stopped the attempt. That was it for the second period with the score remaining tied 1-1.

                                                     "No goal for you!" - Sacco

The Red Wings wasted no time scoring to open the third period. Just 1:19 into the period, Edvinsson passed to Michael Rasmussen who found Raymond open in the slot. Raymond's shot went through Korpisalo to put the Red Wings up 2-1. Worse yet, Charlie McAvoy went off for hooking 6:31 into the period to put the Red Wings on the power play. Dylan Larkin fired on net to draw Korpisalo out of the crease and the rebound went right to Rasmussen. Korpisalo BARELY got the blocker on it to keep the game tied. Momentum shifted as Ben Chiarot took an interference penalty 9:28 into the period. Frederic won the faceoff and passed it back to Lohrei. Lohrei fired on net, off the stick of Brazeau and in to tie the game! With 4:45 left Erik Gustafsson was sent to the box for tripping. The Bruins failed to score on the power play and we headed to overtime.

                                                       Bruins tie it up

Pavel Zacha got the first chance 15 seconds into overtime but Husso made the save. Alex DeBrincat tried to dive for a penalty on Pastrnak but the ref let them play. Pastrnak passed the puck back to Zacha who's slapshot went in to win the game 2:15 into OT. The Red Wings complained but they took their eye off the ball long enough for the Bruins to win.

                                                          Bruins win

Reaction:

Detroit is missing some guys for sure but that was a balsy win by the Bruins. They fell behind twice in the game and rallied back to win it. The challenge by Sacco pretty much saved the game considering that goal would have been the difference in the game. Kudos to Andrew Peeke who played the third period with cotton up his nose after taking a puck to the face in the second period. Pastrnak and Zacha have been called out in the media when the Bruins were getting their teeth kicked in the dying days of Jim Montgomery, I'd say they stepped up big time. Winning five of seven is nothing to sneeze at, considering the lopsided scores leading up to the Montgomery firing. Korpisalo made some BIG stops and finally looked like the goalie that got the superstar contract from Ottawa. The win improved the Bruins to 13-11-3, just three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins have no time to celebrate because the Bruins are back in action tomorrow night in Chicago to face Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. The game begins at 7:30 PM at the United Center.

Bruins Beat Habs in Centennial Game (12/1/24)

The Boston Bruins played their first game on December 1, 1924 beating the Montreal Maroons. One hundred years later the Boston Bruins repeated history after a very long pregame ceremony to beat the Montreal Canadiens. The much maligned Bruins offense came out swinging scoring three goals in the span of just 70 seconds in the first period. Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle all found the back of the net against Cayden Primeau halfway through the period. In the second period, McAvoy broke away for a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 but Cole Caulfield scored to make it 4-1 going into the third. Coyle scored just 21 seconds into the third period although Montreal rallied with goals from Caufield and Emil Heineman to pull within two with just under 14 minutes to go. The Bruins defense held fast under Jeremy Swayman and Cole Koepke provided the empty net goal to end it. The Bruins had beaten Montreal in their Centennial Game 6-3 at TD Garden.

                                                                100 Years of Fun

The Bruins came out with a fire in the first period with Cayden Primeau having to stop a Charlie McAvoy blast less than a minute into the game. Three minutes later Trent Frederic dished to Nikita Zadorov but Primeau made the stop. Swayman then held fast eight minutes into the period when Arber Xhekaj slapshot went right into his pads. The Bruins got lucky nine minutes into the period when Mike Matheson beat Swayman clean on a shot from the point....off the post! Emil Heineman got the rebound but couldn't put it in. Down the other end, Mark Kastelic dished it to Frederic but Primeau stopped him. The puck went to Jordan Oesterle who dished it to McAvoy who scored a wraparound goal to put the Bruins up 1-0.

                                                           That's one

Just fifty-five seconds later David Pastrnak sent it to Pavel Zacha who's blast dropped Primeau. In the confusion, Morgan Geekie ended up with the puck behind the net. He sent it to Pastrnak in the shot who scored his 9th goal of the season to increase the lead.

                                                        That's two

Just fifteen seconds later Kastelic fired it on net and Primeau left a rebound. Coyle backhanded the rebound into the net for yet another goal to complete the trifecta. The Bruins sat on the lead the remainder of the period and went into intermission up 3-0.

                                                           That's three

Things got even worse for the Canadiens in the second period although things looked to go their way when Nikita Zadorov sent the puck out of the arena for a delay of game just 25 seconds into the period. Then McAvoy fell to the ice, sweeping the puck over in the direction of Elias Lindholm and Matheson. Matheson kicked the puck away only for McAvoy to take it and go. McAvoy skated in and scored the breakway goal to put the Bruins up by four.

                                                      Kiss the crest Charlie Mac

Finally the Canadiens did something five minutes later ironically as guest commentator Ray Bourque said "its a game of mistakes". Nick Suzuki passed it to Xhekaj who literally skated all the way in and shot the puck on a wraparound attempt. The puck went off Cole Caufield's skate and in to break up the shutout with Caulfield getting the credit. Then things went old school as Lane Hutson was called for tripping 10:32 into the period. In the ensuing scrum, Kastelic and Xhekaj had a chinwag that would have made Georges Laraque and Zdeno Chara proud. Both Kastelic and Xhekaj took a ten minute game misconduct and matching roughing penalties into the dressing room. The Bruins failed to cash in on the power play although both Geekie and John Beecher had good chances. With 6:36 left in the period, Koepke beat Primeau clean but it went off the post and out. No other shenanigans happened and the Bruins went into the third period up 4-1.

                                                          Old time hockey!

The Bruins wasted no time essentially putting the game away to begin the third period. Koepke intercepted a pass at the blue line and passed to a streaking Coyle, potting another goal past Primeau to put the Bruins back up by four. The Canadiens struck back two minutes later as Hutson passed ahead to Jake Evans. Evans passed to Emil Heineman who's one timer beat Swayman to inch the Canadiens closer. The Bruins had a big chance for another goal when Coyle passed down low to Kastelic but he couldn't bury the one timer with 13:33 to go. Down the other end, Suzuki took the puck, passed to Caufield who scored to put Montreal back in the game. Justin Brazeau had a wide open chance but couldn't score on Primeau. Worse yet, the Bruins took their first real penalty of the game when Marchand got called for slashing with 10:14 left. The Canadiens came THIS close to scoring when Matheson's shot rang off the post and behind Swayman. Brandon Carlo and Swayman pounced on it just in time. The Bruins killed off the penalty and Montreal took one when Hutson was sent to the box for holding with 7:13 left. Marchand dished it to Pastrnak on the power play but Primeau made the save. The Bruins failed to score but the defense stepped up. With 2:30 left Montreal pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. Kastelic got control of the puck and passed it to Beecher. Beecher sent it over the line to Koepke who scored the empty net goal to seal it. Back in net, Primeau had to stop a slapper from Geekie to make sure the final score wasn't even worse. The Bruins had won the game 6-3.

                                Joe Sacco doing his best Detective Daniel Reagan impression

Reaction:

Great win by the Bruins over their century old rivals and it was nice to see Pastrnak score for the first time in eight games. Ironically it was the Boston boys who did the most damage. Ex-Boston University alum McAvoy and Weymouth's own Coyle. The only drawback to the game was allowing that third goal to make the game close. If Swayman wants to put himself in the Vezina hunt, he's got to make those stops. Especially when the Bruins are in tight games with their schizophrenic offense. Still, they got it done today with all the ghosts in the building. Sad how the Bruins have been around for 100 years with only 6 Stanley Cups to show for it. Montreal won 6 in the 1970's alone. Still, Montreal hasn't won since 1993 and 2011 is still fresh on the minds of Bruins fans. As for this year's team, they're perfectly mediocre but today was fun. The win improved the Bruins to 12-11-3, four points behind the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division and they have a game in hand. The Bruins look for another win against the Detroit Red Wings this Tuesday night at 7:00 PM at TD Garden.