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Recap: Bruins beat Kings in OT behind two Geekie goals

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With a cold New England winter on the horizon, it may behoove New England officials to see how they can tap into Morgan Geekie’s heat source to lower energy bills across the region.

(That will be my platform when I run for President of New England, don’t steal it.)

Geekie scored twice for the B’s last night, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to lift the Bruins to a 2-1 win over the Kings.

The goals were Geekie’s 15th and 16th of the season, putting him in a tie for first in the league in that category.

Raise your hand if you had “Geekie in the Rocket Richard hunt at American Thanksgiving” on your bingo card.

Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves in the win, including 14 in the third period alone.

Nikita Zadorov collected two assists, while David Pastrnak and Alex Steve had one assist apiece.

The game would remain scoreless for nearly two and a half periods before Geekie got the scoring started with a booming slapshot from just inside the blue line. 1-0 Bruins.

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The B’s had a power play and a chance to double their lead late in the third; instead, they allowed a shorthanded goal to Joel Armia to make it a 1-1 game.

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Geekie would strike again halfway through overtime, beating Darcy Kuemper with a snap shot from the circle to end the game.

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Bruins win, 3-2.

Game notes​

  • Geekie got the glory, but Zadorov deserves a credit for winning a puck battle with Quinton Byfield to maintain possession (in the defensive zone, no less) right before the goal.
  • Kuemper, who always seems to be right on the verge of Big Mad against the Bruins, stuck his leg out to try to trip Pastrnak after Geekie’s OT goal, in case you missed that at the end of the clip and were wondering about the near-fracas.
  • The B’s certainly played with fire a bit in this game, giving the Kings five chances on the power play. Kudos to the penalty kill for getting the job done.
  • Swayman was excellent in this game for the Bruins. I don’t have much more analysis to offer than that, but I think that about covers it.
  • Geekie scored his two goals on just three shots, meaning his out-of-this-world shooting percentage streak will continue.
  • Lastly, I’m not sure anything screams “HEATER” more than a guy, stick in the air, calling for the puck at the blue line, then scoring on the ensuing slapshot.
  • Geekie, so hot right now. Geekie.

The B’s will be off on Saturday before ending the California trip on Sunday night in San Jose.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...uins-beat-kings-in-ot-behind-two-geekie-goals
 
Preview: Bruins wrap up California trip in San Jose

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Just the facts​

  • When: Tonight, 8 PM
  • Where: SAP Center – San Jose, CA
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: Fear the Fin

Know your enemy​

  • 10-8-3, 23PTS, T-5th in the Pacific Division
  • Macklin Celebrini: 13G-18A-31PTS; Will Smith: 7G-13A-20PTS; William Eklund: 5G-8A-13PTS
  • Yaroslav Askarov: 7-5-1, 2.97 GAA, .908 save percentage

Note: The stats above don’t include San Jose’s game against Ottawa on Saturday night.

Game notes​

  • One more in the Golden State! Fresh off of an overtime win in Los Angeles, the Bruins head approximately five hours north (or ten, depending on traffic) to take on the San Jose Celebrinis.
  • The aforementioned Celebrini is carrying San Jose on the young season: the Sharks have scored just 62 goals on the season, meaning Celebrini has been involved in 50% of them. Not bad for anyone, let alone a kid who won’t turn 20 until June.
  • Michael Misa, the San Jose’s first-round pick and the second overall pick in June’s draft, has been out since before Halloween and doesn’t appear close to returning. Jeff Skinner, who apparently plays for the Sharks now, is out injured as well.
  • As mentioned above, the Sharks hosted the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, a game that hadn’t started as I was putting this preview together. That game was scheduled for 7 PM Eastern, so the Sharks will have just over 24 hours between puck drops.
  • Alex Nedeljkovic started Saturday night’s game, meaning the Bruins will almost certainly be seeing Jaroslav Askarov tonight.
  • Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is a Marshfield native and the older brother of former Bruin David Warsofsky. If this was an ESPN broadcast, you’d probably hear this mentioned two dozen times, but NESN might only say it once.
  • Prior to their recent run of two losses followed by two wins, the Sharks had been on a nice streak of five wins in a row. Considering they only won 20 games all of last season, that’s a pretty impressive output.
  • For the Bruins, there isn’t much new. No news on Elias Lindholm, other guys remain out, world keeps spinning.
  • If you’ve seen the movie Kicking and Screaming, a cinematic classic starring Will Ferrell and Mike Ditka (yes, the same one), their game plan boils down to “get the ball to the Italians.” For the Bruins, it’s “get the puck to Morgan Geekie.”
  • In case it kept you up last night, Darcy Kuemper has apologized for trying to trip David Pastrnak. Phew.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...ew-bruins-wrap-up-california-trip-in-san-jose
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Sharks

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Welcome to Sunday Night Hockey, folks!

I’m putting this post together Saturday night, so hopefully your NFL team did OK today. If not, I’m sorry.

The photo that accompanies this post is both cool and a symbol that time comes for us all.

On the ice, wearing a white jersey, you’ll find none other than the current Bruins head coach, Marco Sturm!

The man on his feet, responsible for knocking Sturm to the ice, is none other than the current San Jose Sharks GM, Mike Grier!

The other guy in teal, seated on his pants, is none other than Craig Rivet, noted Montreal Canadien and eventual Buffalo Sabre. I just didn’t want to leave him out.

“Eventual Buffalo Sabre” is a pretty grim diagnosis though, isn’t it?

Anyways, per Getty Images, this picture was taken on October 13, 2007, so close to two decades ago.

Grier would play three more NHL seasons after that one, while Sturm would play four for a handful of teams.

Tonight, one is behind the bench, while the other is high above the ice hoping Macklin Celebrini can generate some more magic to propel the Sharks.

Bruins! Sharks! A reasonable start time on the East Coast!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57297/public-skate-bruins-vs-sharks
 
Morning Skate: Chomped

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Monday begins, and a new week is upon us!

The Bruins ended their California road trip with a loss on Sunday night, falling to the San Jose Sharks, 3-1.

The B’s fell behind 2-0 with a Shark goal in each of the first two periods, but Morgan Geekie (who else) got one back midway through the third.

That’d be all the Bruins could muster on offense, however, and the Sharks would add an ENG to seal it.

The story for San Jose was goalie Yaroslav Askarov, who stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win. He has been on a tear for the Sharks in November, so the Bruins aren’t exactly alone in getting goalied by the Russian netminder.

While it wasn’t what sunk them on Sunday night, the B’s had another somewhat undisciplined game in the penalty column, giving the Sharks six power play opportunities.

Ultimately, two points on the three-game California trip isn’t terrible, but you also can’t help but feel like the Bruins left a point or two on the table.

The Bruins will now be off until Wednesday, when they’ll face the Islanders on the road in a pre-Thanksgiving showdown.

American Thanksgiving marks a milestone of sorts for the NHL season, as the majority of the time, teams in a playoff spot at that point end up making it at season’s end.

As of Monday morning, the Bruins are in the first wild card spot in the East; they’re also just a point out of first place in a very congested Atlantic Division.

(They’re also just three points out of being seventh in the wild card race, but let’s not start the week with negative thinking.)

Ultimately, it’s more of a symbolic thing than anything else, but it’d be nice for the B’s to find themselves in a spot as that date passes.

Unless, of course, you have the sensible view that it’d be better for the Bruins to miss the playoffs and get a higher draft pick, in which case you might be muttering about Geekie into your mashed potatoes on Thursday.

Don’t worry — there’s still the even BETTER possibility of the Bruins making the playoffs AND getting a high draft pick if the Leafs keep scuffling.

What’s on tap for today? Your overall thoughts on the road trip?

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57307/morning-skate-chomped
 
Preview: Bruins face Islanders in pre-Thanksgiving showdown

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Just the facts​

  • When: Tonight, 7 PM
  • Where: UBS Arena – Elmont, NY
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: Lighthouse Hockey

Know your enemy​

  • 13-8-2, 28PTS, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division
  • Bo Horvat: 14G-11A-25PTS: Mathew Barzal: 6G-11A-17PTS; Kyle Palmieri: 6G-11A-17PTS
  • Ilya Sorokin: 7-6-2, 2.67 GAA, .905 save percentage

Game notes​

  • A Thanksgiving Eve showdown! Prior to enjoying a day off for American Thanksgiving, the Bruins will visit SCENIC Long Island for a their last game against the New York Islanders this season.
  • It’s a bit of a weird scheduling quirk to have all of these games front-loaded into October and November. The B’s and Isles faced each other twice in a week in late October and early November; they’ll play each other tonight, then that’s it for the season (potential playoffs excluded, of course).
  • The B’s won both of the previous two meetings between these two teams: 5-2 at TD Garden and 4-3 in a shootout on Long Island.
  • The latter, you may remember, featured some bad blood, with Nikita Zadorov roughing up rookie standout Matthew Schaefer, Isles fans flooding Zadorov with messages on social media, and Zadorov posting that Isles fans needed to support their team, as playing at UBS Arena was like a “library.” Modern sports, man.
  • Emil Heineman, part of the Noah Dobson trade with Montreal, has been a nice pick-up for the Isles. The 24-year-old Swede has 9G-6A-15PTS in 23 games. His previous best was 18PTS, recorded last season in 62 games for the Habs. Olé.
  • The Islanders are on a nice run of late, winners of three of their last four games and seven of their last ten.
  • Kyle Palmieri, who always seems to score against the Bruins (don’t check me on that in case I’m wrong), has four points (1G-3A) in his last five games.
  • In related “always scores against the Bruins” news, yes, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is still on the Islanders.
  • There isn’t a ton new happening with the Bruins, as they avoided major injuries on the California trip and guys like Viktor Arvidsson, Casey Mittelstadt, and Charlie McAvoy remain out.

Hopefully your Thanksgiving prep is firmly under control and you can enjoy some hockey this evening.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...s-face-islanders-in-pre-thanksgiving-showdown
 
Recap: Swayman shuts down Isles as Bruins win, 3-1

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Behind 44 saves from Jeremy Swayman and the first multi-goal games of Alex Steeves’s career, the Bruins beat the Islanders, 3-1, on Long Island Wednesday night.

The win gives the Bruins a season-series sweep over the Islanders.

While Steeves deserves plaudits for his two goals (one of which was shorthanded), Swayman was the story in this one.

After Mat Barzal opened the scoring early in the first period, Swayman shut down the Islanders the rest of the way.

He made 34 saves across the last two periods, including a whopping 23 stops in the third period alone.

Barzal showed some nice hands and great patience to make it 1-0 Islanders five minutes into the game.

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Steeves would get the Bruins on the board just two minutes later, tapping in a loose puck at the top of the crease to make it a 1-1 game.

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Tanner Jeannot made it 2-1 Bruins early in the second, collecting a loose puck and beating Ilya Sorokin from the slot.

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Steeves would cap the scoring on a great play midway through the third period, as he collected a turnover then finished a beautiful 2-on-1 with Fraser Minten to make it 3-1 Bruins.

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And that was it!

The Isles would throw 16 more shots on Swayman’s net after the second Steeves goal, but they couldn’t find paydirt.

3-1, Bruins win!

Game notes​

  • While this game certainly won’t go down in the Clinical Win Hall of Fame, a win is a win! The Isles got goalied and probably deserved a better result, but the Bruins capitalized on their chances and got a big game from their grinders. Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.
  • The Bruins had just three shots in the third period, one of which went it. The Isles, meanwhile, went 0-for-23 in the third. Sports!
  • Minten ended up with two assists on the night. Similar to Barzal on his goal, Minten showed great hands and great patience to wait out the sprawling Matthew Schaefer and find Steeves.
  • If you were told before the game that David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie would combine for zero points and two shots on goal, you could be forgiven for assuming the Bruins lost.
  • Per the NESN broadcast, Steeves’s second goal was the first shorthanded goal of the season for the Bruins.
  • Swayman is now the league leader in goals saved above expected.

The Bruins will be off on Thursday before hosting the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Black Friday. That game will have a 1 PM start, because the league hates fun. Bring back the 11 AM game.

Happy Thanksgiving! And Happy Thursday to you Canadians.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...ap-swayman-shuts-down-isles-as-bruins-win-3-1
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Islanders

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Welcome to Thanksgiving Eve, folks!

I hope you’ve hung your stockings by the chimney with care, in hopes that they’ll soon be filled with gravy, turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.

I might be mixing up my holidays here, but it’s the Internet, there’s no truth anymore.

Now that we’ve gotten the nihilism out of the way, it’s time for hockey!

The Bruins will be looking to end their pre-Thanksgiving slate on a high note, after exceeding expectations thus far on the young season.

Meanwhile, the Islanders are 7-3-0 in their last ten and will want to avenge the two times they’ve already lost to the Bruins this season.

Bruins! Islanders! I hope your turkey is fully thawed by now!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57315/public-skate-bruins-vs-islanders
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Rangers

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Welcome to Black Friday, folks!

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving/Thursday. Sorry about the lack of official preview for today’s game, but Thanksgiving Night got away from me a bit.

Here are your basics:

  • The Bruins will host the Rangers at TD Garden today, with a 1 PM(ish) start.
  • The game, billed the “Thanksgiving Showdown,” will be broadcast on TNT and HBOMax. You can catch the radio broadcast on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
  • This is the first meeting of the regular season between these two teams, though they played a coupled of times in the preseason.

The Rangers haven’t had the best start to the season, as they sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with a record of 12-11-2.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that they’re not far afield, as the first-place Devils are just five points ahead.

The Rangers are winners of two in a row, the latest being a 4-2 win over Carolina on Wednesday that may not have been the deserved result.

On the Bruins side of things, they’ll be hoping for a better team-wide performance than they saw on Wednesday night in Long Island, a game in which they got solid contributions from their grinders but ultimately got bailed out by Jeremy Swayman.

Based on his current form and a day off in between games, I’d figure that Swayman will start again this afternoon, but Marco Sturm may choose to continue to rotate his goalies with a game against Detroit on the schedule for tomorrow.

That Saturday night game against the Red Wings will be at TD Garden, then the Bruins will visit Detroit on Tuesday night. Another weird “hey, you again” point in the schedule.

Anyways, heat up your leftovers and find a preferred spot on the couch for this afternoon’s game. It should be a good one, even if it should be at 11 AM.

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2025-2026-game-coverage/57330/public-skate-bruins-vs-rangers
 
Preview: Bruins welcome Red Wings to TD Garden

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Just the facts​

  • When: Tonight, 7 PM
  • Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: Wingin’ It In Motown

Know your enemy​

  • 13-11-1, 27PTS, 5th in the Atlantic Division
  • Dylan Larkin: 14G-13A-27PTS; Alex DeBrincat: 12G-14A-26PTS; Lucas Raymond: 7G-19A-26PTS
  • Cam Talbot: 9-4-0, 2.97 GAA, .887 save percentage

Game notes​

  • Fresh off of a Black Friday beating at the hands of the New York Rangers, the Bruins are right back at it on TD Garden ice, hosting the Detroit Red Wings for the first time this season.
  • The Red Wings also played on Friday, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a 6-3 score on home ice.
  • Head coach Todd MacLellan was asking questions of his team after that Tampa loss, so the Red Wings aren’t exactly a team firing on all cylinders at the moment.
  • John Gibson started Detroit’s loss to Tampa, meaning we should expect to see Cam Talbot at TD Garden tonight. In the same vein, Jeremy Swayman should be starting for the Bruins.
  • The Red Wings have lost three games in a row and four of their last five.
  • After sniffing a playoff spot last season, Detroit is one of those teams expected to “take the next step” this season. They’re certainly not out of it by any stretch, but would likely be in a better position if they were getting better goaltending. Gibson and Talbot have combined for a save percentage of .871, third-worst in the NHL.
  • Former Bruin James van Riemsdyk is currently with the Red Wings. He recently played his 1,100th NHL game, a nice milestone in what has been a solid NHL career.
  • No word yet on the statuses of David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. I’d assume both will be out again tonight, but they’re officially day-to-day, so I guess we’ll find out.

See ya tonight!

If you have hockey gear and are able to skate (well enough), bring your stuff to TD Garden tonight. The Bruins might end up needing you.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...preview-bruins-welcome-red-wings-to-td-garden
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Red Wings

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Annnnnnnnnd we’re back!

Just a day after a Black Friday game that saw the home team giving away goals at deeply discounted prices, the Bruins are back at it, hosting Atlantic Division rivals Detroit at TD Garden.

If anything, Detroit should be at a slight disadvantage tonight, as they also played Friday but had to travel to Boston after their loss to Tampa.

Of course, the Bruins are playing with a patchwork roster as this point, so maybe neither team has an advantage at this point…maybe the real advantage is the friends we’ve made along the way.

As of Saturday morning, it wasn’t clear if Pavel Zacha or David Pastrnak would be available for tonight’s game, though that has likely become more clear since I scheduled this post.

Shake off the gravy and stuffing, put on your best Christmas sweater, and enjoy some divisional hockey!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57337/public-skate-bruins-vs-red-wings
 
Recap: Morgan Geekie ties the Red Wings, B’s win in a shootout!

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JUST GIVE THE ROCKET RICHARD TO HIM NOW ALREADY

First Period​


There was a ruckus!

There was also a lot of penalty killing…But no scoring. Ultimately, that would have ‘till the middle frame.

Second Period​


It’s a day ending in Y, and thus the B’s, deep in the Red Wings’ zone, managed to get the puck around the boards off to Elias Lindholm, and Morgan Geekie clocked in with a smart call to immediately sit out front on account of absolutely nobody within a mile of the net-front aside from Detroit’s netminder, allowing him to tip the puck home for a 1-0 Bruins lead!

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And we head to the 3rd!

Third Period​


The Wings, perhaps noticing they were down to a Bruins team down a David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, decided that they were not going to take it lying down, and proceeded to lay siege on the Bruins defensive zone, finally cracking through the defensive effort on a failed clear that Emmett Finnie was able to send out to Dylan Larkin, who sent a shot out front to a swooping in Lucas Raymond, who tied the game on a deflection that you’d have to actively have psychic powers to stop. 1-1 Everybody.

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Then, as time winded down, Ben Chiarot took a high sticking penalty, and that gave the B’s extremely scary power play, something that is not a joke to say in 2025-26, and Morgan Geekie got to take a nice, careful slapshot in a power play that felt like it was moving at half speed, which utterly flummoxed the Red Wings. 2-1 Bruins!

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Unfortunately, the Wings pulled their goalie, and with only a couple of minutes left they tied it as an excellent Larkin pass got Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen on a 2-on-nobody, and Rasmussen parked his 6’6 keister in front of Swayman to redirect the puck in behind Swayman. 2-2 Everybody.

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Guess we’re headed to Overtime.

Overtime​


There were 4 shots to 1 in favor of the Wings. Swayman stopped them all.

Shootout​


SKILLS COMP GO, CASEY SEND US HOME

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Bruins win 3-2!

Game Notes​

  • Your TOI Leader was Nikita Zadorov, who logged 26:57
  • This was rapidly on it’s way toward being a very sluggish game until the third, after which it felt like the Bruins were in real danger of taking the positives that Morgan Geekie had given them and frittering it away. Mercifully, cooler heads prevailed and they came out on top in a gutsy performance.
  • So hey! Morgan Geekie’s right back in the hunt for the league lead in goals!
    • Seriously, one of the big questions about this one player is and to a large part still remains “Who is this player away from David Pastrnak?”, and given that he now leads the team in goalscoring, that is not an insignificant question to ask, especially if he’s gonna be away for a little bit. Tonight, he answered that he can in fact still do this away from #88, and it’s only made his legend even more impressive. Morgan, I cannot overstate this; we cannot do this without you.
  • The PK was busy tonight; Boston gave up 5 chances on the man-advantage to Detroit, including one in overtime oh my GOD Elias do not do that again, and they stopped them all. Each of the Penalty Killers deserve a star on their own for how they handled this and I wish every last one of them a very cold ice bath and a stiff drink.
    • That said, LET US TRY TO CLEAN UP THE WILD STICKS AND PANIC HOLDS PLEASE. They got away with it against Detroit tonight, but you got New Jersey coming up at the end of next week. They’re not gonna struggle nearly as much with moving the puck around. Let’s not tempt fate if we can.
  • I think the Bruins owe Jeremy Swayman a cake for f#!king up his SV% so bad in that Ottawa game that he’s merely top 5 in the league instead of actively leading the NHL in SV%. Oh well, that just means he gets to earn it the old fashioned way. He came out of this one with a .923 SV% on 26 shots, Plus all the ones he made in the shootout, which I feel like should count? Either way, excellent night for him.
  • Mason…you are lucky Jeremy Swayman is a Boston Bruin. But you did end up not causing too big of a problem. You did…okay.


The B’s will get a chance to play the Red Wings again on Tuesday, though this time in their home barn. That game is at 7pm EST.

We’ll see you there!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...eekie-ties-the-red-wings-bs-win-in-a-shootout
 
Public Skate: Atlantic

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Welcome to December, folks!

A new month is upon us, with November and all of its turkey trappings now firmly in the rearview mirror. Just 24 more shopping days until Christmas, for your awareness.

The Bruins ended November on a high note on Saturday night, beating the Detroit Red Wings in the shootout at TD Garden.

That game saw the Bruins allow the game-tying goal with the Detroit net empty late in the third, but they managed to bounce back and skate off home ice with two points.

The B’s will play the Red Wings again tomorrow night, this time in Detroit, as we get to enjoy a nice Atlantic back-to-back.

Morgan Geekie, who has been instrumental to the Bruins’ better-than-expected first two months of the season, starts December tied for the league lead in goals, which we all saw coming.

He’s joined in the “Welcome to December” Team MVP race by mainstay David Pastrnak and by Jeremy Swayman, who has been outstanding over the past few weeks, in particular.

Nikita Zadorov also strikes me as someone who has exceeded expectations on the season thus far, which is extra important when you consider the unavailability of Charlie McAvoy.

There’s still plenty of season left, with two months down and four-plus months to go. It just feels like once the calendar turns to December, it’s less “early season” and more like “middle of the season.”

Anyways, the B’s find themselves in the playoff picture as we begin the last month of the year, and that’s better than many of us expected.

(As an aside, I had no idea Tampa was now in first in the Atlantic Division, but the Bolts are riding a seven-game winning streak and are 8-2-0 in their last ten. That’ll do it.)

What’s on tap as you begin December? Any surprises (positive or negative, Bruins-related or league-wide) as we begin the 12th month of 2025?

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57360/public-skate-atlantic
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Red Wings, Part Deux

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Fun fact: Detroit gets its name from the French word détroit, which means strait, which is a narrow body of water connecting two other bodies of water.

That’s not to be confused with Streit, which is the last name of Mark Streit, a Swiss guy who used to play for the Canadiens, who play in Montreal, where they speak French, just like the word détroit.

Mark Streit probably speaks French better than me, who took five years of high school French but panicked when trying to use that French to order a coffee at a Tim Hortons in Montreal ten-something years ago.

Mon dieu, etc.

(As a brief aside, I didn’t know Mark Streit was in the IIHF Hall of Fame, so that’s good for him.)

Anyways, that’s enough foreign language discussion. It’s time for hockey!

If you liked watching the Bruins play that team they played on Saturday night, boy, do I have some good news for you.

Bruins! Red Wings! This time, in Michigan!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...69/public-skate-bruins-vs-red-wings-part-deux
 
Preview: Same teams, different state as Bruins face Red Wings again

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Just the facts​

  • When: Tonight, 7 PM
  • Where: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: Winging It In Motown

Know your enemy​

  • 13-11-2, 28PTS, T-4th in the Atlantic Division
  • Dylan Larkin: 14G-15A-29PTS; Lucas Raymond: 8G-19A-27PTS; Alex DeBrincat: 12G-14A-26PTS
  • Cam Talbot: 9-4-1, 2.88 GAA, .888 save percentage

Game notes​

  • I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think a full preview is really necessary for this game. These two teams played one another just three nights ago. Neither team has played since then. Take everything I said on Saturday and apply it to tonight’s game. That should just about cover it, I think?
  • In case you missed that game, the Bruins beat the Red Wings, 3-2 in a shootout. That game saw the B’s blow a late lead by allowing a game-tying goal with the Detroit goalie pulled, but Jeremy Swayman came up big in the shootout for the Bruins to take home two points.
  • With Cam Talbot starting the game at TD Garden on Saturday night, we may end up seeing John Gibson in net for Detroit tonight.
  • The Red Wings have been a slightly better team at home vs. on the road, sporting an 8-6-1 record at the friendly confines of Pizza Pizza Arena. They’re 5-5-1 on the road.
  • David Pastrnak did not travel to Detroit and won’t play tonight as he continues to recover from an injury sustained in last week’s pre-Thanksgiving game against the New York Islanders. Per Marco Sturm, Pastrnak is still considered day-to-day.
  • Viktor Arvidsson, out since the middle of last month when the Bruins beat Montreal, looks ready to return for tonight’s game, giving the B’s a bit of an offensive boost.
  • Morgan Geekie, who scored twice on Saturday night, remains red hot with six goals in his last five games.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...ifferent-state-as-bruins-face-red-wings-again
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Blues

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Get excited, folks: it’s Thursday night and the St. Louis Blues are coming to town!

Just three more weeks until Santa Claus himself will be coming to town, but until then, we have to settle for…oh no, not Jordan Binnington!

Well, maybe not, depending on whether or not Jim Montgomery wants to start him, but I guess we’ll see.

The Bruins did not play a great game in Detroit on Tuesday, but still managed to be very much in the game until the final whistle.

Ideally, they can avoid going down 3-0 tonight, thereby making things easier on themselves.

Anyways, it’s the Bruins! It’s the Blues! Do not talk to me about 2019!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57377/public-skate-bruins-vs-blues
 
Morning Skate: Blue

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Welcome to Friday, folks!

Sorry about the lack of a full recap of last night’s game — the night got away from me and then Friday morning came quickly.

By now, you likely know that the Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Thursday night, bouncing back from Tuesday’s loss in Detroit.

Highlights from the game included:

  • Two goals from Pavel Zacha
  • Three assists from Elias Lindholm
  • Another goal for Alex Steeves
  • A three-point night (1G, 2A) for Morgan Geekie

Viktor Arvidsson scored as well, notching the 400th point of his NHL career.

All in all, it was a good win for the Bruins, who continue to get production from unexpected places with David Pastrnak on the shelf.

Steeves, in particular, remains hot, with five goals in his past five games. He’s up to 6G-2A-8PTS in 13 games this season, no small feat when you consider that he had just three NHL points to his name prior to this season.

Up next for the Bruins will be a slightly more challenging opponent, as the B’s host the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden on Saturday night.

The Devils are tied for 3rd in what is an incredibly competitive Metropolitan Division, with the first place Capitals and the last place Blue Jackets separated by just five points.

Elsewhere in the organization, the Providence Bruins will play twice this weekend: at Springfield on Saturday, then vs. Springfield on Sunday.

Hey, at least I didn’t claim it was an all-Massachusetts match-up again like I did last year…I’m learning geography!

If you’re a soccer/futbol fan, today is a big day, with the draw for the 2026 World Cup scheduled for 12 PM in Washington, DC.

Even if you’re not into the World Cup, you’ll likely encounter it in the mainstream news before too long when some story of blatant corruption or cronyism breaks. It’s the FIFA way!

Anyways, what’s on tap for today? If you’re in the Boston area, wear two coats if you go outside.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/morning-skate-open-threads/57388/morning-skate-blue
 
Preview: Bruins return home to face St. Louis

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Just the facts​

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

Know your enemy​

  • 9-11-7, 25PTS, 7th in the Central Division
  • Robert Thomas: 4G-13A-17PTS; Jordan Kyrou: 8G-7A-15PTS; Dylan Holloway: 7G-6A-13PTS
  • Jordan Binnington: 6-6-5, 3.20 GAA, .878 save percentage

Game notes​

  • The Bruins will look to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings as they host the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden in the first game of a two-game mini-homestand.
  • I know I post it every time the Bruins play the Blues, but I still cannot accept the fact that the Bruins lost a Stanley Cup Final to Jordan Binnington. It does not compute.
  • Speaking of Binnington, he has been bad once again this year and got into a back-and-forth with Jim Montgomery (remember him?!) when he got pulled in the first period of a game earlier this week. I have a hard time believing the two actually exchanged I love yous, but I’ve been wrong before!
  • The Blues have struggled on offense this season, ranking 30th in the NHL in GF/G. They’re mostly a bottom-half team in every major statistical category, including GA/G (27th), penalty killing (26th), and power play (17th).
  • The Blues got a double-dose of injury news this week, as both Alexey Toropchenko and Jimmy Snuggerud will miss time. Toropchenko apparently suffered “scalding burns” to his legs after some kind of accident at home. Snuggerud, a rookie who has had a good season thus far for St. Louis, will be out at least six weeks.
  • With Viktor Arvidsson back, the B’s sent Riley Tufte to Providence on Wednesday. No word yet on whether or not they’ll be calling anyone up to replace Michael Callahan, who was injured in the Detroit game.
  • Similar to Callahan’s status, we’ve heard nothing official (yet) on the status of David Pastrnak. He has missed the last three games due to injury.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...4/preview-bruins-return-home-to-face-st-louis
 
Preview: Bruins host New Jersey in Saturday Showdown

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Just the facts​

  • When: Tonight, 7 PM
  • Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA
  • How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Opposing perspective: All About the Jersey

Know your enemy​

  • 16-11-1, 33PTS, T-3rd in the Metropolitan Division
  • Jesper Bratt: 5G-21A-26PTS; Nico Hischier: 10G-15A-25PTS; Timo Meier: 10G-12A-22PTS
  • Jake Allen: 8-5-0, 2.48 GAA, .911 save percentage

Note: The stats above do not include Friday night’s Devils-Golden Knights game.

Game notes​

  • Fresh off of a solid 5-2 win over St. Louis, the Bruins get one more home game before they hit the road next week.
  • This will be the second game in as many nights for the Devils, who hosted the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night. The Devils lost that game, 3-0, getting shutout by former Devil Akira Schmid.
  • Friday’s loss was the fourth in a row for New Jersey, which has gone on a bit of a skid lately after a decent start to the season. Prior to the current losing streak, they had won three games in a row, but prior to THAT they lost three in a row, so…ups and downs.
  • The Bruins, who seem like they’ve taken a ton of penalties lately, did a decent job staying out of the box against St. Louis. They’ll want to repeat that tonight, with the Devils boasting the league’s sixth-best power play.
  • David Pastrnak skated on Friday, though there’s still no official word on his status. If he’s out again tonight, it’ll be interesting to see if he travels with the team on their upcoming road trip. That’d be a pretty good indicator of “he’s close” vs. “more time on the shelf.”
  • Pastrnak was spotted at last night’s Lakers-Celtics game at TD Garden, alongside a very hydrated Nikita Zadorov.
  • Jacob Markstrom has started the last two games for New Jersey, including Friday night’s loss, meaning we’ll likely see Jake Allen in net tonight.
  • Other than the aforementioned Pastr-status, there’s not much new with the Bruins. Charlie McAvoy remains out, Victor Soderstrom remains with the team, and there were no fresh injuries on Thursday.
  • After tonight’s game, the Bruins will hit the road for a three-game swing through St. Louis, Winnipeg, and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

See ya tonight!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...w-bruins-host-new-jersey-in-saturday-showdown
 
Public Skate: Bruins vs. Devils

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Welcome to Saturday night, folks! Hopefully you’ve had a decent weekend thus far.

The Bruins will host the New Jersey Devils tonight at TD Garden, prior to heading out on a three-game road trip.

The Bruins are relatively rested, while the Devils played Friday night and have lost four games in a row.

So basically, this has all the hallmarks of one of those “Bruins should win” games, but we know how that usually goes.

Anyways, it’s the Bruins! It’s the Devils! It’s LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Discuss.

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/gameday-open-threads/57397/public-skate-bruins-vs-devils
 
PWHL Update: Fleet lead the league after three games

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Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

So, stop me if you’ve heard this before:

A team after losing lots of marquis talent due to outside circumstances comes into a new professional season and stuns everybody by playing much better than most prognostication expected.

I know, this is a really hard mindset for 2025 Boston hockey fans to get into, but I need you to try and inhabit a new headspace here.

Few believed in the Fleet…​


Boston was one of two teams who got absolutely blown to smithereens by the inclusion of Seattle and Vancouver; namely a number of their marquis talents find themselves now wearing some variant of blue in the Pacific Standard Timezone. While they got to keep Muller, Frankel, and Tapani, they lost Hilary Knight, Sydney Bard, Emily Brown and Hannah Bilka, and were coming off of a truly frustrating season where it felt like they were continuously wasting efforts of goaltending wonder weapon Aerin Frankel, who kept them deep in games they often had no business winning to begin with.

Consistently, the prognostication of this team was looking like a rebuilding squad. THN had them last, DailyFaceoff’s roundtable discussion of the league found them no higher than 5th, The Ice Garden saw them as a team just barely out of it (though did recognize this is a tough league and so expected them to stay in the race for awhile)

…and the Fleet have made them pay for it, at least early on.​


From jump, the Fleet made a statement by taking the Montreal Victoire, a team with a great many of Team Canada’s bigger names on it, one that should be raring to go and crush the league for their repeated inabilities to get out of the 1st round…and shut them right out.

Since the beginning of the season, no team has been harder to score on, no team has been harder to pry the puck off of, and nobody has been quite so hard to beat as the Boston Fleet.

Quite early on, it’s clear the loss of Hilary Knight gave a couple of players the go-ahead to try and run an offense for themselves, and it’s paid dividends for Susanna Tapani, who leads the team in points with 3 in 3 games; 2 goals and an assist. It’s also allowed rookie players like Abby Newhook to shine, as she’s right next to Tapani in goals.

But of course, the real rock for the Fleet, the one they can always hide behind if things get squirrelly, is Aerin Frankel. Frankel once again is the pride of the league with a 0.986 SV%, and having only let a single puck past her in 70 shots. It is however, a much more team oriented effort this year, as among the starters for the PWHL, Frankel has gone from seeing some of the most pucks thrown at her, to 2nd least; a defensive effort that’s creating a positive feedback loop for the team as they now largely manage their best player correctly, and their best player can reward them with a chance to stay in every game.

With all that out of the way, The Fleet play Minnesota today​


…so let’s watch a little, shall we? See if we can get to 4-0 before the olympic team camps!

Source: https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com...pdate-fleet-lead-the-league-after-three-games
 
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