The Boston Bruins have won their last four and can make it five tonight.
The Bruins scored four straight, including three on the power play, after going down 2-0 to the Anaheim Ducks last night. Michael DiPietro recorded his first NHL win, Frederic Brunet scored his first NHL goal, and a few more Bruins hit milestones last night. The Bruins will complete the second half of the back-to-back later tonight with a game against the winless Los Angeles Kings.
Elsewhere around the league, Rick Bowness is still ripping into his team after their 7-3 loss on Tuesday. Simon Edvinsson still remains unsigned, and Gavin McKenna was benched in Toronto’s loss on Thursday. The Penguins saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in Denver last night. There’s a Devil who can’t stop shooting but can’t find the back of the net, history in Chicago, and some of the biggest surprises to start the season.
Happy Saturday, catch up on Bruins and league news in today’s Daily Bean:
Boston Bruins
BRUINS WIN: The Bruins (6-2-0) scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks (4-3-0) at Honda Center last night in Orange County. The power play went 3-for-4, the penalty kill 5-for-5, and after going down 2-0 late in the first, Michael DiPietro did not allow another goal and posted 25 saves in his first NHL win.
POSTGAME: It was a night of milestones for the Bruins. DiPietro got his first NHL win, Frederic Brunet scored his first NHL goal, and James Hagens had his first multi-point night. Brunet and DiPietro had plenty of praise for each other after the game, but Marco Sturm pointed to the special teams as another driving factor in the Bruins’ win.
Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak, and Matt Poitras also added goals in the win, with Poitras hitting the 10-goal mark in his NHL career. Pastrnak also moved into fourth place on the Bruins’ all-time goals list with his goal (423), and he is four behind Patrice Bergeron for third.
GAMEDAY: They’re back tonight. The Bruins made the short trip from Anaheim and will take on the Los Angeles Kings (0-3-2) at 9:00 PM. Just one night after going 3-for-4 against one of the league’s best penalty kill units, they will go up against the league’s worst. The Kings are one of two winless teams, along with the Philadelphia Flyers.
NEXT UP: The Bruins will not skate this morning. Instead, Sturm will meet with the media around 7:45 PM ET (4:45 PM PT) to announce the starting goaltender and any lineup changes. The Bruins are scheduled for a day off on Sunday and will return to the practice ice on Monday in Texas.
NHL News & National Hockey Now
Sportsnet: Rick Bowness still isn’t over the Blue Jackets’ 7-3 loss on Tuesday. He spoke to reporters yesterday and continued ripping into the Blue Jackets, saying he’s “never coached a team that was 30th in the league in goals against.”
Detroit Hockey Now: The Detroit Red Wings are swimming in cap space. They have just over $16 million left, and they still need to ink Simon Edvinsson to a new deal. David Pagnotta reported that the 6-foot-6 defenseman is looking for a deal in the 7x$11M range. Max Smith has more on why that number should have been obvious from the jump.
Sportsnet: Gavin McKenna was benched in Toronto’s OT loss on Thursday. The first overall pick played just 6:36 and didn’t see the ice after the halfway point of the second period. Justin Bourne does a deep dive into McKenna’s game and looks at why he was stapled to the bench.
Colorado Hockey Now: There was one other game on the NHL schedule last night, and it got started an hour before the Bruins and Ducks did. The Colorado Avalanche also went down 2-0 but ended up with two points as they clawed back to beat the Penguins 5-2. Aarif Deen has the good and bad from last night’s game.
TJ Hughes also scored his first career goal in the win, joining Frederic Brunet as first-time goal scorers last night.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Dan Kingerski was in Denver, and he has the Penguins’ report card after the Penguins blew a 2-0 lead. The Avalanche may be a Stanley Cup contender, but the Penguins’ mistakes were consistent with their struggles over the last six games.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Through seven games, Timo Meier has 27 shots on goal. None of them have gone in. James Nichols goes under the hood and looks at the numbers surrounding Meier and whether his slump is just bad luck or not.
Chicago Hockey Now: The Blackhawks enter tonight’s game having won their last two games, including a 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Jack Bushman has some quick hits from that game, including newfound chemistry with Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane, and Kane’s new record.
The Athletic: Who has been a surprise so far this season? James Mirtle looks at 10 of the league’s biggest surprises among forwards, defensemen, and goalies. It’s hard to deny that Vasily Podkolzin has been one of the biggest surprises, but it’s good to see Fraser Minten on this list after his start to the season.
Today’s NHL Schedule
Devils at Capitals – 1:00 PM (US: NHLN; CA: SN)
Hurricanes at Jets – 3:30 PM (CA: SN)
Canucks at Lightning – 4:00 PM
Kraken at Panthers – 6:00 PM
Islanders at Maple Leafs – 7:00 PM (CA: SN)
Sabres at Canadiens – 7:00 PM (US: NHLN)
Sharks at Red Wings – 7:00 PM
Senators at Flyers – 7:00 PM (CA: SN1)
Rangers at Blue Jackets – 7:00 PM
Stars at Blackhawks – 7:00 PM
Blues at Predators – 8:00 PM
Bruins at Kings – 9:00 PM (NESN)
Oilers at Mammoth – 10:00 PM (CA: SN)
Penguins at Golden Knights – 10:00 PM