Tag Archives: NHL Schedule

Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs. Vegas Golden Knights

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The Boston Bruins continue with their western trip when they face the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at the T-Mobile Arena. With a thrilling overtime win over the San Jose Sharks, the B’s are looking to make it seven in a row. With the uncertainty of when David Pastrnak will return to the line-up, the time for “next man up” has been more pronounced these past few games.

BOSTON BRUINS VS VEGAS KNIGHTS
(PHOTO CREDITS: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)

OFFENSIVE PLAY

In the past four games without Pastrnak (which the B’s have won), the team has scored 19 goals, with many coming from second-year players that have been going through their sophomore slump. Both Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen have finally found their voice, and are enjoying the recent burst of offensive play. DeBrusk has had goals and assists in all four games, while Heinen has had a goal and three assists. The fourth line has also contributed with three goals and four assists.

“We miss Pasta…we have enough solid leaders that it’s –next man up is the term, no passengers…next guy that goes in has to do the job. Did we expect to score this many goals without Pasta? No.  We were trending as a lower-scoring team…Maybe that’s just the guys saying, ‘We’ve got to pick up the pace here.’

Coach Bruce Cassidy
BOSTON BRUINS VS VEGAS KNIGHTS
(PHOTO CREDITS: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)

DEFENSE

Defense has also stepped up for the B’s with Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy each picking up goals in the recent game against the Sharks. McAvoy has netted three goals in six games and scored the winning goals in Los Angeles and San Jose. With the trade deadline fast approaching and rumors flying, the team’s focus continues to be assertive with the puck and racking up crucial points.

STATS

The Bruins are now second in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Toronto, and fourth in the league with 78 points (tied with San Jose). They are now 35-17-8. Brad Marchand leads the team with 70 points and 47 assists. The injured Pastrnak still leads the team with 31 goals; Marchand has 22, while Bergeron has 21 (DeBrusk is fourth with 18). Coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Jaroslav Halak will get the start in net tonight. Halak is sixth in the league for goals against average (2.35) with a 15-9-4 record. Goaltender Tuukka Rask has been playing stellar as of late: he is 12-0 in his last 12 games played.

BOSTON BRUINS VS LAS VEGAS KNIGHTS
(PHOTO CREDITS: Review Journal)

VIVA LAS VEGAS

The Vegas Knights are coming off a 3-0 shut-out loss to the Colorado Avalanche this past Monday night in their final road trip game in February. They have dropped their last four out of five games and are 3-8-0. Right-winger Alex Tuch leads the team with 42 points and 26 assists. Jonathan Marchessault leads the team with 19 goals. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury leads the league with 29 wins and six shutouts. Fleury has a record of 29-18-4 with a 2.61 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. The Knights are third in the Pacific Division and are 32-25-4.

The two teams last met on November 11, with Boston winning 4-1.

WHEN TO WATCH:  Tonight with puck drop at 10:00 PM here in the East Coast

WHERE TO WATCH: NBCSN

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @pastagrl88

March and April Are Going to Test the Bruins

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Up to this point in the regular season the Boston Bruins have had a relatively strange schedule. Currently they are in a stretch were they play four games in 16 days. That’s not something most NHL teams enjoy. But just as the old saying states: what goes around comes around. Unfortunately for the B’s March is coming around.

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Up to This Point

The Boston Bruins have played 55 games thus far, the second least amount in the NHL. Every time we check the standings it seems the B’s always has two or more games in hand on the opposition. This is mainly due to their relatively light schedule they have had the luxury of enjoying. They played 13 games in November, 14 in December and a measly 11 games in January. Although the Bruins have been the beneficiary of a lax schedule they still have had their share of back to backs. The Bruins have played seven sets of back to backs up to this point in the season. It’s actually rather odd how many significant gaps between games the Bruins have had. All in all the light workload has been huge for this B’s team as both the old and young players have been able to stay relatively healthy.

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What’s to Come

Do not get used to multiple days without hockey. Things are about to make a dramatic turn in the Bruins schedule. Throughout the entirety of March and April the Bruins have two days off in a row only once. Starting off with a grueling March schedule consisting of 16 games in the thick of the playoff race. The rest of the way the Bruins practically play a game every other night. Just as stated earlier, what goes around comes around. Every team plays 82 games, and the Bruins are about to feel the wrath of the NHL schedule.

Many people have been debating whether or not this Bruins team could win the Stanley Cup. The next two months will tell show us everything we need to see. The NHL playoffs are relentless and March is going to be the Bruins first taste of that. Let’s see how Chara and the young kids hold up when the miles start to add up. The Bruins are about to find out what it takes to win.

 

Cover image courtesy of causewaycrowd.com.