The Boston Bruins emerged victorious against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday as part of their franchise-record, season-opening point streak.
They’ll look for a repeat this Saturday when they visit the Red Wings.
Boston posted a 4-1 home win over the Red Wings, then won in overtime against Florida on Monday and via a shootout versus Toronto on Thursday. The Bruins are now 9-0-1, their best start in franchise history.
“It’s such a fun group to work with because we have a lot to get better at but we find ways to win,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said.
In the 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs, Boston squandered a 2-0 advantage by allowing a pair of goals in the second period. During the shootout, Jeremy Swayman didn’t allow a goal while Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle each converted their attempts.
“I love it,” Swayman said of the shootout. “Yeah, that’s important because there’s so many regular-season games and a lot of times they go to shootouts. It’s just part of the game and that’s important for us to have that in our bag. Teams know that we’re going to be good in shootouts. We have players and goalies, so when it comes to that, we want to make sure that we’re dominant.”
In Boston’s first matchup with Detroit, David Pastrnak collected two goals and an assist while Swayman made 23 saves.
“I think we’re starting to find how we need to play to win, and kind of what our identity is and the foundation of our group, and we’re starting to build that chemistry,” captain Brad Marchand said. “So, I think as the season continues to go on, we get more and more comfortable playing with each other.”
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who also scored against the Red Wings, will serve the second contest of a four-game suspension on Saturday. He was penalized by the league for an illegal check to the head of Florida Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The Red Wings will look to bounce back from their first shutout loss of the season. They were blanked by Florida, 2-0, on Thursday.
“The engagement is there. Emotionally we were in the game,” team captain Dylan Larkin said. “We just have to execute. I thought our start was good (Thursday) and we took a penalty and their power play got going and they were all over us after that. We take penalties at bad times and it kills our 5-on-5 momentum.”
Detroit’s power play has shot blanks in the last four games. Prior to the dry spell, the Wings converted 11 times with the man advantage in the team’s first seven games.
The Red Wings were 0-for-5 with the man advantage on Thursday.
“We bobbled pucks at key times and we forced it at key times. We just didn’t get the one that we needed,” Larkin said. “I think on the power play we need one bad. The sense of urgency has to be there from the first power play to our last power play.”
Detroit also needs to get Alex DeBrincat going again. DeBrincat had a league-high nine goals and 13 points after the first seven games. He hasn’t recorded a point in the last four games, three of which the Wings have lost.
–Field Level Media
