Bruins’ week ahead: Hot streak could be cooled by light schedule
COMMENTARY
Coming off of a grueling stretch that saw the Bruins play five times in seven days, the team will get some rest this week with a light schedule on tap. As nice as rest is, it may be coming at a bad time for the hot Bruins. They took four of the aforementioned five games and played arguably their best game of the stretch in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens last Tuesday — the lone setback of their busy previous week.
The Bruins will look to cap off their three-game road trip on Thursday with their third straight win in Minnesota before heading home on Saturday to host the Jets as they look to climb back over .500 at home.
Thanks to their successful run last week, the Black and Gold find themselves in second place in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the division-leading Canadiens.
Let’s take a closer look at the Bruins’ week ahead:
Thursday: @ Minnesota Wild, 8:00 p.m.
After losing a 5-0 shutout to the Wild on Oct. 25 at TD Garden, the Bruins will meet them for the final time in the 2016-17 season on Thursday night. Sitting in third place in the Central Division, the Wild have struggled in November after going 6-2-1 in October. Despite the team’s struggles of late, leading scorers Eric Staal, Ryan Suter and Massachusetts native Charlie Coyle haven’t slowed down much as they remain responsible for the bulk of the offensive production.
As seen in Boston a few weeks ago, the Wild have been one of the better defensive teams in the National Hockey League. Minnesota’s 2.0 goals against per game ranks No. 1 in all of the NHL. Their penalty kill has been similarly effective as the Wild have killed of 88.1 percent of power play opportunities, good for fifth in the league.
Wild forward Zach Parise missed his sixth straight game, an overtime win against the Ottawa Senators Sunday night. The veteran is expected back either Tuesday against the Calgary Flames or Thursday against the Bruins.
Saturday: vs. Winnipeg Jets, 7:00 p.m.
On Saturday, the Bruins return to TD Garden after a three-game absence and will look to complete the season sweep of the Jets. The Bruins looked sharp in a 4-1 victory north of the border on Oct. 17.
Before heading into Boston on Saturday night, the Jets will host the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday night then kick off their six-game road trip in Philadelphia Thursday night against the Flyers.
The Bruins will certainly have their hands full with rookie sensation Patrick Laine, who currently leads the league in goals with 11. Not to go unmentioned is linemate Mark Scheifele, who is tied with Tyler Seguin for the league lead in points with 20, and is also tied with four others — including David Pastrnak — for second in goals with 10.
The Bruins’ top pairing of Zdeno Chara and 19-year-old Brandon Carlo should see a lot of the Jets’ top line. The Bruins did a good job slowing the duo down in their last contest as the pair failed to register a point despite a combined six shots on goal.
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