Neither the Boston Bruins’ emotional, 6-4 victory over Montreal in Thursday’s home opener nor their squeeky, 2-1, overtime win over Los Angeles on Saturday will win style points or inspire dreams of swapping out buckets for baseball caps in June, but the importance of the battle, resilience and determination shown in those two victories cannot be overstated.
Above: A game-worn 1976-77 Champion edition Johnny Bucyk home white sweater worn that season in nationally televised games, as displayed during Saturday’s hockey jersey expo on the North Shore. Photo shared by Kirk Luedeke
There was enough to fix from their October 8, season-opening, 6-4 loss at Florida, for the snowball to start its first roll of the 2024-25 season down the wrong side of the hill. How bad could it have gotten with three road games following their Columbus Day matinee against Florida? How bad would management let it get?
Internal as well as fan expectations are high for the Bruins after General Manager Don Sweeney made three major maneuvers to shape the roster to contend for the Stanley Cup: the trade of Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators; the free-agent signings of center Elias Lindholm and left defenseman Nikita Zadorov; and, in the nick of time, signing Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66 million contract.
The Bruins, further fortified over the summer with a bottom-six overhaul meant to intensify their forecheck, were bound to experience hiccups out of the gate as high expectations often translate to poor focus and poor performance. The last too games were not masterpieces, but they did put the opener firmly in the past.
It’s terribly early to be doing this, but here is some of the things that have gone well for the Bruins so far this season:
Goaltending: The stats won’t say so, but both Swayman (2-0-0, 2.44 GAA, .914 save pct.) and opening-night victim Joonas Korpisalo (0-1, 6.19 GAA, .821 SP) have played well. Korpisalo kept his team in a chaotic first period before Boston’s late-period powerplay short-circuited and blew the game open for the other guys. Two nights later in Boston, Swayman worked out the kinks as the Bruins worked out theirs and continued to make important stops when the pesky Canadiens hung around. Against the Kings, he looked like the Swayman of old. (Now that we’re in the second century of Bruins Hockey, can we say, “Swayman of old” or perhaps “vintage Swayman” is more appropriate.)
Elias Lindholm: The newer of the Bruins’ two Lindholms has quietly led the Bruins in scoring after three games with 2 goals and 3 assists. Lindholm is a plus-3 so far. His 47.4% faceoff rate will likely improve. Meantime, he continues to display an artful backchecking style, surprising puck carriers by timing his interruptions to avoid taking penalties. For what it’s worth, Hampus Lindholm is playing plus-1 hockey with only an assist on his record. Not bad.
The other new guys: Right-shooting center Mark Kastelic, acquired in the Ullmark trade, has led the uptick in Boston’s forechecking aggression and, by himself or at least in concert with Johnny Beecher and some combination of Cole Koepke, Max Jones and Riley Tufte, has brought back memories of Merlot Line ferocity. Over the past several seasons, the Bruins have begun games, periods and even playoff series in adrenaline-rushed frenzies that they have not been able to sustain. This time the horses are bigger, and the results seem to be more sustainable.
Matt Poitras: The second-year centerman’s ability and confidence with the puck in traffic areas and his crafty play along the boards (both with and without the puck) are solid signs that the shoulder surgery that shortened his rookie season and the resultant time away are not lingering issues. In fact, Poitras is playing so well that one begins to wonder if Coach Jim Montgomery’s tinkering will not be limited to the revolving door at second-line right wing but might even consider pairing Poitras with Brad Marchand. At least from a statistical perspective, it is oddly the regulars who are finding the sledding to be slow so far. Charlie Coyle, Marchand’s center, is among those struggling to produce, as is third-liner Trent Frederic. The Bruins did not practice on Sunday, so a shake-up is more likely something for Montgomery to try on the road trip.
Aside from those struggling to score goals, there has been an across-the-board, top-to-bottom improvement in the Bruins’ cohesion as a hard-working, well-coached hockey team.
At 2-1-0 on the season, they get a second chance at the Panthers, who lost twice since the opening-night laugher against the Bruins and now missing Aleksander Barkov. The Florida captain’s absence will sting, especially as the adrenalin wears off and the fatigue of two straight trips to the Cup final coupled with significant offseason loss of personnel begins to set in (ie. the Stanley Cup hangover).
The Boston Bruins are usually the best thing that could happen to the Florida Panthers, so it’s up to the Bruins to put together a relentless effort Monday afternoon.
This should be an intense hockey game.
The Bruins are at Colorado on Wednesday (9:30 pm ET on TNT), at Utah Saturday (9 pm ET on NESN) and Nashville Tuesday (8:45 pm ET on NESN) before home games October 24 vs. Dallas and October 26 vs. Toronto.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 