It’s a good thing it’s not the midterm or final exam, but if the Boston Bruins keep playing like they are when they wear their Hometown Remix uniforms, they’ll fail the class.
Boston lost, 6-2, against the Minnesota Wild Saturday night at TD Garden and have now dropped back-to-back home games for the first time this season.
The B’s are now 0-2-0 and being outscored, 11-4, when wearing their Hometown Remix uniforms and when I have to write some thoughts about the game on my iPad. Coincidence?
Let’s start with a couple positives from Saturday night’s action.
First, David Pastrňák scored a goal, so that’s always a good thing to see. Especially since we’re all hoping he gets back to about 40 goals in a season with however many assists he gets now as well.
Second, Fraser Minten tallied his seventh goal of the year and it came on the power play. That’s another promising sign of things to come in the near future as the B’s continue to transition through their retool/overhaul on-the-fly or whatever we’re calling it these days.
That’s about it for the things that went well against the Wild.
As for the rest of the game, it can be summarized with a little alliteration— piss poor puck play. If you’ll pardon the crude language, of course.
Boston’s attacking zone possession seemed to go by the wayside one way or another, while Minnesota played more calculated entries that accrued zone time in stretches.
Then as the game went on and the scoreboard went more and more in the Wild’s favor, the Bruins unraveled and erred from “heavy hockey” into “bullshit hockey” territory.
If the same logic that applied to Nikita Zadorov’s one-game benching earlier in the year still applies after the 6-foot7 defender chalked up 14 penalty minutes with 3:57 remaining in regulation, then I don’t think Marco Sturm will have any problem bringing Mason Lohrei or Jonathan Aspirot back into the lineup on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
One also has to wonder if the league will take a look at Charlie McAvoy’s antics in the dying minutes of the third period and at least dish out a fine.
Considering he already missed the first six games due to suspension, there’s not of room to be skating around on thin ice in the eyes of the league’s Department of Player Safety.
Rightfully or wrongfully, I’m not here to get into the ethics of George Parros and Co. right now.
It’s fair to ask how much James Hagens’ injury impacts Boston’s ability to do, well, anything offensively, but it’s an entire different equation if the defense can’t keep their composure when the going gets tough and the offense dries up.
That said, the Bruins outshot Montréal and Minnesota in their last two games.
They’ve outshot their opponents in four out of their last five games, as a matter of fact.
Shot quality, however, may vary. But the Bruins were getting more scoring and high-danger chances than the Wild Saturday night, at least.
On one hand, Jesper Wallstedt is a leading candidate to qualify as an “elite” goaltender in today’s NHL whenever the scheduled meeting of the minds defines what “elite” is in an age where the average save percentage is below .900.
On the other hand, it’s fair to say some of Boston’s wounds have been self-inflicted.
Undisciplined actions and the immediate loss of momentum by giving up a goal upon scoring goal separates the best of the contenders from the rest of the league.
If Boston doesn’t turn things around before American Thanksgiving, they’ll find themselves on the outside looking in and with another sell off to plan entering this year’s trade deadline.
Not that it would be the worst thing— if you’re following a timeline whereby you’re looking to open a Cup window two or three years from now, anyway.
Though that raises the obvious question of “are the older players in the core willing to stay or will they still be in their prime by then?”
You’re going to keep hearing a lot about this as the season carries on whether the Bruins are on a winning streak or colder than the last Ice Age.
And, for the record, all indications are that Pastrňák is the type of player that only wants to play for one franchise his entire career, so long as the organization still wants him around.
There’s a reason, after all, why Pastrňák earned the “C” and other players didn’t.
For the first time since April 10 and April 15, 2025, Jeremy Swayman allowed four or more goals in consecutive starts.
His five goals against Minnesota, however, didn’t look as bad as his four goals allowed against the Canadiens. Swayman’s defensive teammates could use a collective refresher on eliminating screens in front of your own goaltender.
Too many Wild forwards built homes in front of the crease— some of them could’ve built a guest house while they were at it— and Boston’s defenders didn’t help eating pucks either.
If you’re going to block a shot, block all of it. If you’re not trying to block a shot, get out of the way.
That’s the general logic that helps your goaltender get a read on what’s being fired at them— especially if you’re not even going to get any puck possession in the defensive zone, like how the Bruins didn’t touch the puck until it deflected off of Zadorov and in to give Minnesota a, 3-0, lead.
All in all, the Bruins were outscored, 10-3, in their season series against the Wild.
Boston fell to 13-6-1 (27 points) on the season and dropped to fourth in the Atlantic Division in the process. The B’s now hold onto the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
In an 84-game schedule, the season can be broken down into four, 21-game quarters. Despite a fast start out the gate, the Bruins could receive a warning after their 21st game of the year against the Kings.
They’re starting to look like last season’s Detroit Red Wings.
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