News Bruins Team Notes

[Boston Bruins]

Morning Skate: Home

Welcome to a new week, folks!

We got our first snow of the season in the Boston area on Sunday, followed by temperatures in the low teens, so we’re all really thriving over in this part of the world.

The Bruins ended their road trip on a flat note on Sunday evening, losing to the Minnesota Wild, 6-2.

It was a deserved result, as the B’s really weren’t in the game in any meaningful way and eventually found themselves down 5-0, which isn’t ideal.

While Minnesota played the day before, I feel like this wasn’t a surprising loss given the circumstances: the Wild are on a good run of late, Quinn Hughes was making his Minnesota debut, etc.

Overall, two wins out of three games on the road trip is a decent showing.

And now, the B’s get a bit of a holiday bonus: they won’t hit the road again until the Saturday after Christmas, as they’ll have a five-game homestand heading into the holiday.

Not a bad time to be home for an extended stretch, that’s for sure.

The Mammoth will come to town on Tuesday, followed by the Flying McDavids on Thursday. There’s also a looming home date with the Montreal Canadiens, who will visit TD Garden in the B’s last game before Christmas.

After the energetic match-up between those two teams at the Bell Centre, that should be a fun one.

So, the heartland swing is over, the Stadium Series jerseys have been released, the injured players are back…that’s about the lay of the land at this point.

Christmas feels like another mile marker on the NHL calendar, and the Bruins find themselves in the mix for a playoff spot, which is something most of us would have taken if offered back in October.

Plus, this year’s team has been a far more entertaining watch than what we saw last season, so that’s a bonus too. No coal in any stockings this year.

What’s on tap for today?

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/morning-skate-open-threads/57471/morning-skate-home

 

[Boston Bruins]

Preview: A Sunday showdown between the Bruins and Wild

Just the facts​

• When: Today, 6 PM
• Where: Grand Casino Arena – St. Paul, MN
• How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
• Opposing perspective: Hockey Wilderness

Know your enemy​

• 18-9-5, 41PTS, 3rd in the Central Division
• Matt Boldy: 17G-18A-35PTS; Kirill Kaprizov: 18G-16A-34PTS; Marcus Johansson: 11G-14A-25PTS
• Filip Gustavsson: 9-8-3, 2.64 GAA, .907 save percentage

Game notes​

• The Bruins will wrap up their three-game road trip with a stop in Minneapolis-St. Paul to face the Wild, who will be extra juiced with their “swing for the fences” acquisition of Quinn Hughes on Friday.
• The Wild beat Ottawa 3-2 at home on Saturday afternoon, but Hughes didn’t play. He’s expected to make his Minnesota debut this evening.
• Jonas Brodin will miss his second consecutive game for the Wild today as he nurses an upper-body injury.
• Jesper Wallstedt, who is 4-1-0 with two shutouts in his last five games, started Saturday’s game in net for Minnesota, meaning we’ll likely see Filip Gustavsson today.
• Somewhat surprisingly, Minnesota hasn’t been a great offensive team this season, sitting at 25th in the NHL in GF/G. They’re a stout defensive bunch, however, allowing 2.63 goals per game (5th in the NHL).
• Former Bruin Marcus Johansson is having himself a throwback season thus far, with 11 goals in 32 games. He scored 11 goals in each of the last two seasons, but in 78 and 72 games, respectively. Fair to say he’s a bit ahead of that pace. He has 3G-2A-5PTS totals in his last three games.
• With Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak now firmly back in the mix, no news is good news for the Bruins.
• One note on the radio broadcast of this game: the Patriots are playing at 1 PM today and are broadcast on 98.5 The Sports Hub, so there’s a chance the B’s get bumped or have a shortened pre-game show.

See ya this evening!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...a-sunday-showdown-between-the-bruins-and-wild

 

[Boston Bruins]

Public Skate: Bruins vs. Mammoth

It’s not every game that we get a true clash of the titans. Sometimes we’re stuck with “Bruins vs. article of clothing” or “Bruins vs. weather phenomenon” or “Bruins vs. type of music.”

Tonight, however, is one of those clashes: large bears vs. large kind-of elephants.

Who will emerge victorious? Time will tell, I guess.

While the on-ice clash will be slightly less dramatic than a bear vs. a mammoth, it should still be a decent game.

Utah is having a pretty good second season, and the Bruins are a better team (as a collective) than they were when these two sides met in Salt Lake City in October.

Bruins! Mammoth! Mammoths? Mammoth!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57479/public-skate-bruins-vs-mammoth

 

[Boston Bruins]

Recap: Bruins top Mammoth, 4-1, with Geekie’s two-goal night

A two-goal night from Morgan Geekie helped the Boston Bruins rebound from a slow start and gain control of the game to defeat the Utah Mammoth, 4-1, at the TD Garden on Tuesday night.

The Bruins have now won five of their last six games.

Pastrnak assisted on both of Geekie’s goals while Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves in the win as the B’s improved to 12-5-0 at home.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

On the power play, Sean Durzi sent a long shot on net which out front, Barrett Hayton tipped past Jeremy Swayman. 1-0 Mammoth.

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The Bruins had their own power play chance at the end of the period after getting into rhythm to close out the first frame. David Pastrnak sent a pass through the seams to Morgan Geekie in the left-wing circle for a wrist shot into the net while Vitek Vanecek tried to reset. 1-1 game.

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Second period:

Geekie kept the momentum going when just 23 seconds into the period when out front, he picked up the rebound from Pastrnak’s shot to give the Bruins the lead. 2-1 Bruins.

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Third period:

Pavel Zacha’s shot went wide, but bounced off the end boards for Casey Mittelstadt to pick up the puck and put a quick shot past Vanecek from the goal line. 3-1 Bruins.

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Michael Eyssimont backhanded exploded down the boards before cutting to the center and throwing a backhander past Vanecek. Final score: 4-1 Bruins.

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Game notes​

• The Bruins got off to a slow start, which seems as expected after a road trip. They just seemed like they were slower in all zones to the Mammoth, only registering one shot on net for most of the first half of the period, and had trouble connecting. Postgame, Geekie said he felt the Bruins were flat out of the gate as sometimes the first game back from the road can be sleepy.
• After the game, Pastrnak called it a mental reset for the second period. “We were in this together and eventually we got going. You never want to lose two, three in a row because that’s when things get tough, but brought of how we bounced back today.
• Speaking of keeping losses at one game —the last time the Bruins were on a two-game losing streak was Nov. 17-19. Since then, they’ve managed to bounce back after a loss, like they did tonight.
• But the B’s began to build their game, capitalizing on the power play with short, hard passes and such a beautiful pass by Pastrnak to Geekie. The Bruins reset after the first period and quickly attacked in the second with Geekie tallying both goals. It was Geekie’s fifth multi-goal game this season. He was so close to getting the hat trick in the third, but Vanecek poked it away. He now has the second most goals this season in the league.
• Postgame, Geekie was asked about the Bruins being able to wear teams down and being tough to play against. He said the team is well conditioned, adding all four lines are able to play off each other and it shows how the Bruins are built.
• Swayman was a big factor in keeping it a one-goal game for the first period as the Bruins slowly began to find their game with the last several minutes left in the frame. He continued to make timely saves and tracked the puck well.
• In four career games against Utah, Pastrnak has now registered at least a point in each. He’s now 2G, 3A, 5PTS against them over the last two seasons.
• The Bruins will continue their five-game homestand on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Edmonton Oilers.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...s-top-mammoth-4-1-with-geekies-two-goal-night

 

[Boston Bruins]

Preview: Bruins return home to face the Mammoth

Just the facts​

• When: Tonight, 7 PM
• Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA
• How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Know your enemy​

• 16-15-3, 35PTS, 4th in the Central Division
• Nick Schmaltz: 12G-18A-30PTS; Clayton Keller: 10G-18A-28PTS; Dylan Guenther: 15G-12A-27PTS
• Karel Vejmelka: 14-9-2, 2.78 GAA, .893

Game notes​

• After a 2-1-0 road trip, the Bruins return home to the friendly confines of TD Garden to host the Utah Mammoth for the first time in franchise history. Last time Utah swung through, you may remember that they were a franchise-to-be-named-later. Now, they are much more wooly.
• This will not be the first-ever Bruin-Mammoth encounter, however, as giant short-faced bears and mammoth coexisted back in prehistory (according to Google). In addition, these two teams already played once this season, with Utah beating the B’s 3-2 back in mid-October.
• The Bruins last played a home game ten days ago, beating the New Jersey Devils, 4-1. For some reason, it seems like longer ago than that.
• The Mammoth were last in action on Sunday, beating the Penguins, 5-4 in OT. That game saw Utah rally from 3-0 down in the third to lead 4-3, only to give up a game-tying goal then win in overtime. Up, down, up, down, etc.
• JJ Peterka, freed from the dumpster fire in Buffalo, has been a good acquisition for Utah, recording 13 goals in 34 games.
• Utah, as a team, is bucking the “rotating goalies” trend this season, with Czech goalie Karel Vejmelka appearing in 26 of the Mammoth’s 34 games. Connor Hellebuyck nods in approval.
• Dylan Guenther, near the top of Utah’s team scoring list, has been on a hot streak of late with five goals in his last four games.
• The Bruins will be returning to TD Garden ice in better overall shape than when they left, with both Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak returning to action during the recent road trip.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...review-bruins-return-home-to-face-the-mammoth

 

[Boston Bruins]

Public Skate: Bruins vs. Oilers

Another night of hockey is upon us, folks!

We don’t see Edmonton too often around these parts, and it’s always a treat to get to watch elite talent like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Bruins defenders/goalies may feel differently, but it can’t be about them all of the time, right?

One week to go until Christmas, so hopefully you’ve done most of your shopping.

If not, there’s still time to go out and find that last TurboMan doll before Myron the mailman finds it. Never give up.

Anyways, it’s the Bruins! It’s the Oilers! It’s ice hockey, live on ice!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57508/public-skate-bruins-vs-oilers

 

[Boston Bruins]

Preview: Here come the Oilers

Just the facts​

• When: Tonight, 7 PM
• Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA
• How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Know your enemy​

• 16-12-6, 38PTS, 3rd in the Pacific Division
• Connor McDavid: 20G-36A-56PTS; Leon Draisaitl: 17G-30A-47PTS; Evan Bouchard: 6G-26A-32PTS
• Tristan Jarry: 11-3-1, 2.77 GAA, .905 save percentage

Game notes​

• The Flying McDavids come to town to face the…Flying Geekies? Sure, why not? After all, if someone told you back in August that Morgan Geekie would have more goals than Connor McDavid when Edmonton visited TD Garden in December, you’d probably think they were flying high too.
• In more recent news, the McDavids are more about two other guys: Leon Draisaitl, who recorded his 1,000th NHL point in Tuesday’s win over Pittsburgh, and Tristan Jarry, the newly acquired goaltender.
• Draisaitl, of course, remains extremely good, so there’s really nothing new there. It’s pretty cool that his middle name is Tim.
• Jarry, however, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in what sure seemed like a lateral move (shipping out Stuart Skinner). The former Penguin has won his first two games as an Oiler, but he has allowed seven goals in those two games.
• If you want to laugh at some ridiculous numbers: McDavid has 14 points (yes, 6G-8A-14PTS) in his last five games. Draisaitl has 10 assists in that same span.
• The story has been kind of “same old Edmonton” for the Oilers this season: an elite offense but a leaky team defense, much of which can be pinned on goaltending. In a weird twist, their GF/G and GA/G are exactly the same at 3.41. I guess they’re just going to tie every game for the rest of the season. That’s how averages work.
• Shockingly, Edmonton has the league’s best power play at close to 33%. I know, who would have thought?
• Vladislav Kolyachonok, claimed off of waivers by the B’s earlier this week, skated with the team on Wednesday. No word yet on if/when he’ll make his debut for the Bruins, but Marco Sturm confirmed he was claimed to bring depth to the blue line amid a growing list of injuries.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2025-2026-game-coverage/57504/preview-here-come-the-oilers

 

[Boston Bruins]

Morning Skate: Starry

Sometimes the best player in world is just the best player in the world, eh?

While not quite a one-man show, Connor McDavid lifted the Oilers to a 3-1 win at TD Garden last night, helping Edmonton improve to six wins in their last eight games.

McDavid assisted on Edmonton’s first goal, then added a shorthanded goal in the third period to put it out of reach.

It wasn’t a terrible effort by the Bruins, more like “one of those games,” where things don’t quite go your way.

For his part, Marco Sturm was actually fine with his team’s play overall, just pointing to special teams play as being a bit of a letdown.

The lone goal they did score was of the highlight-reel variety, so that’s nice.

The win ended up being potentially problematic for the Oilers, as newly acquired Tristan Jarry left the game injured and didn’t return.

For the B’s, the “SELL EVERYTHING” Vancouver Canucks are coming to town next, with that one scheduled for 7 PM on Saturday night.

While the Canucks are fresh off of executing one of the biggest trades in franchise history, they’re actually winners of two games in a row, so…who knows.

Was Quinn Hughes The Problem??? MY COLUMN:

In other local hockey news, the Boston Fleet of the PWHL are off to a perfect start this season, posting a 5-0-0 record and outscoring opponents 13-2 in those games.

Yes, 13-2.

Those two goals help give goalie Aerin Frankel a stat line that looks like it can’t possibly be real, yet here we are:

There’s elite ….

And then there’s Aerin Frankel

Frankel has been giving a clinic on world class goaltending in her five starts this season. #BostonFleet #PWHL pic.twitter.com/lzrbW7bPq4

— Troiani Rink Report (@rinkreport38125) December 18, 2025

Is that good?

What else is on tap for today?

If you’re in the Boston area, unplug your Christmas inflatables before today’s/tonight’s gusty wind blows them up to Canada and beyond.

We don’t need Santa and Co. taking to the skies early, after all.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/morning-skate-open-threads/57514/morning-skate-starry