For a franchise that celebrated its 100th-anniversary last season, the Boston Bruins don’t have many more franchise firsts – that changes tonight (Oct. 19) as the Bruins head to Salt Lake City, Utah for their first game against the newly minted Utah Hockey Club.
Utah entered the league this season, replacing the Arizona Coyotes and have started off riding the momentum of a new franchise with a 3-1-1 record, sitting third in the Central Division. All three of their wins came consecutively and are entering this game against the Bruins losers of two straight. Boston, on the other hand, is coming off their third win of the season with a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, looking to continue a winning streak on the second-last game of this western road trip.
Bruins Fourth Line Stays Red Hot
It may only be halfway through the first month of the regular season, but absolutely nobody expected Boston’s fourth line of Cole Koepke, Mark Kastelic and John Beecher to not only be the best line on the team – but one of the best in the entire NHL. To date, they’re still the only forward trio to not allow a goal against with over 20 minutes of ice time together and have scored the most goals of any line with eight total (tied with the Vegas Golden Knights’ line of Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone).
In the win over the Avalanche, the line played just over ten minutes together at 5v5 and out-scored the Avs 2-0. All three of them are tied for first on the Bruins with five points each – tied with David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm. In the same breath, Kastelic leads the team in hits with 22 while Koepke (17) and Beecher (11) are not far off. They’re running through teams’ defenses, forechecking deep into the offensive zone and generating chances. Boston has struggled to find offense effectively and consistently from their top lines, but the fourth line has been a driving force for a lot of their games so far.
It is normally a bonus to have a scoring, heavy-hitting fourth line, but for Boston right now it has become necessary that Koepke, Beecher, and Kastelic stay hot and they’ll be a large factor in the game against Utah.
Utah’s Fast Offense Means Bruins’ Defense Needs to Be On Point
Before they became the Utah Hockey Club, the Coyotes were already looked at as a young, up-and-coming future team that possessed dangerous skilled forwards up front and so far in 2024-25, those young players have stepped up. Entering the game against the Bruins on Oct. 19, they are tenth in the NHL for expected goals for (xGF), with just over ten expected goals at 5v5 and even then – have out-performed those chances, scoring 20 goals on the season so far.
Utah has five players who are at a point-per-game or better this season (Logan Cooley, Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton, Dylan Guenther and Clayton Keller), headlined by Guenther who has buried five goals in as many games played, making it known that he is an elite sniper in the league. All five of those players are within the top-six giving them two solid forward lines that are capable of scoring. Further down the lineup, Utah ices a combination of fast, skilled forwards and bigger, heavy forwards. Altogether, they have a forward core that can score at any time.
The Bruins have improved defensively with each game played (with an exception against the Florida Panthers) and looked quite solid throughout the win over the Avalanche. They did not concede a single goal at 5v5 or even strength, and have only three power play goals against. They have been more structured and a lot more physical in front of their goaltender – keeping chances away from the slot area and more so from around the outside areas of the zone. For success against Utah, the Bruins need to keep the chances to the boards, keeping the space in front of the net clear. Utah’s fast forwards will drive around Boston’s defensemen and find passes if they’re not careful, so the Bruins need to be on point.
A Potential Middle-Six Shakeup Can Bring More Offense
The Bruins’ middle-six has been a down point in the first five games, as the play of Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Morgan Geekie has been lackluster. Against the Avalanche, head coach Jim Montgomery essentially benched the entire third line when Marchand left briefly during the game, ending Matthew Poitras’ and Riley Tufte’s night early. Poitras didn’t have a particularly poor outing, but his linemates struggled in all aspects, which forced him to ride the bench in the ending minutes of the game. In an attempt to shake up some of the lines, Montgomery ran new-look combinations during Friday’s (Oct. 18) practice according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe.
Pavel Zacha – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Justin Brazeau – Charlie Coyle – Brad Marchand
Morgan Geekie – Matthew Poitras – Trent Frederic
John Beecher – Mark Kastelic – Cole Koepke
Riley Tufte, Max Jones
The first line has been very good and has even found some life on the man-advantage – something that has also struggled for the Bruins this season. David Pastrnak is still on fire after scoring his fourth goal in his fifth game while Elias Lindholm is still at a point-per-game pace with two goals and three assists in the five games so far. The second line, however, finally sees a shakeup. Marchand is moved to the right side while Justin Brazeau re-enters the lineup (healthy scratch vs Colorado), jumping up to Marchand’s usual spot on the left side of Charlie Coyle. On the third line, Morgan Geekie (healthy scratch vs Colorado) also comes back into the lineup as the left-winger to Poitras and Trent Frederic on the opposite side. To no one’s surprise, the fourth line also remains the same.
Related: Can David Pastrnak Become the Greatest Goal Scorer in Bruins History?
These lines are experimental, but provide an interesting look for the Bruins. Brazeau could use a spark and with Coyle’s first goal of the season coming against the Avalanche, he might be turning a corner and can bring Brazeau up to speed. Marchand switching sides may be awkward at first, but his left-shot can lead to some one-timer options at 5v5, giving the second line more opportunities. More importantly, these lines give Poitras some genuine help beside him, even with Geekie and Frederic only having a combined one point on the season. Poitras has shown the passing skill and effort to make plays happen that may lead to scoring chances for both his wingers – hopefully, they can convert on them.
Fun Saturday Night of Hockey
Utah and Boston have been to overtime a combined four times already in 2024-25, with three of those coming from Utah. This young, talented roster is far from perfect, but are a tough beat for any team on any night in the league. The Bruins are still undefeated this season against teams not named the Panthers and will look to not only continue that but will look to stay perfect on the road trip around the Western Conference. These are two skilled teams on a mission to ride a hot start which will make for an electric night of hockey.
