The Boston Bruins look to get back on the winning track ahead of a three-game road trip when they host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
It has been an up-and-down stretch for Boston, which is 5-4-2 in its last 11 games and played overtime for a third straight contest in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers.
While such a run has been virtually non-existent for the Bruins in recent years, second-year coach Jim Montgomery hopes that positives will come with time.
“It’s normal that your confidence is going to dip when you’re not having as much success as when we were 14-1-1,” Montgomery said. “… That’s why you go through the regular season. You’re gonna have those dips. We didn’t last year, but this is going to make us a tougher team.”
Montgomery believes the entire roster outside of star forwards David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand and goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark is “still trying to find their role and rhythm on the team to have supreme confidence.”
Saturday’s lone goal scorer Trent Frederic is one Bruins veteran who has made strides this season, while Matt Poitras, John Beecher and Mason Lohrei have all contributed as rookies.
On Monday, though, Poitras was loaned to Team Canada for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old, who has gone six games without scoring and played recently on a load-management plan, will look to gain confidence during the popular international tournament before returning to the Bruins after the event’s conclusion Jan. 5.
“I’ve been watching Canada play every single year since — I don’t know how long,” Poitras said. “… You never want to leave the NHL, but I’m excited to get (to Sweden) to play for my country. It’s a dream come true.”
Upper-body injuries to defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Pavel Zacha have also forced recent lineup changes, though Montgomery indicated Saturday that he was “very, very hopeful” to have both back on Tuesday.
The Wild visit Boston for the second half of a back-to-back after having a three-game win streak snapped with Monday’s 4-3 loss at Pittsburgh.
Despite Monday marking Minnesota’s first loss since Dec. 8 in Edmonton, John Hynes replacing Dean Evason as coach has sparked quite a turnaround. The Wild were in a 0-5-2 drought at that point (Nov. 27) and have since gone 7-3-0, scoring first in all seven of those victories.
“When you go through a tough stretch and then there’s a change, I think it’s more trying to get to some individuals and get their games going again,” Hynes said. “As a team, we needed to play a bit faster and more connected. … The guys have done a nice job of executing.”
Defenseman Jake Middleton has scored two of his career-high five goals during the recent run. The latest came during Monday’s rally back from a 3-0 deficit.
The Wild still must improve upon their discipline after allowing opponents to go on five power plays in consecutive games.
“It’s always difficult being down a man against (Pittsburgh’s stars such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel),” Wild forward Vinni Lettieri said. “It’s tough, but obviously, I liked our compete getting back into the game. We’ve got another hard opponent (Tuesday), especially on the PP.”
Lettieri scored a game-tying goal in his first game since Nov. 30.
Forward Mats Zuccarello (upper-body) and defenseman Jared Spurgeon (lower-body) were both missing from Minnesota’s lineup Monday.
The teams will play two of their next three games against one another, with a rematch set for Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.
–Field Level Media
