It certainly was an up-and-down week for the Boston Bruins. After going through October without suffering a regulation loss, they dropped their first game to the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 4, two nights after an impressive win over the Toronto Maple Leafs shorthanded. As they did so many times last season, the Bruins were able to bounce back from their loss in Detroit to avoid a two-game losing streak with a win over the Dallas Stars on Nov. 6.
As they return home for one game on Thursday night (Nov. 9) against the New York Islanders in the final game of Charlie McAvoy’s four-game suspension, it’s time to fire up another Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down.
Plus One: Jeremy Swayman
Head coach Jim Montgomery has been alternating goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark through the first 12 games, but if there is one that is playing better than the other, it’s Swayman. He picked up two wins in the last week with impressive performances against the Maple Leafs and Stars.
Against Toronto, the Bruins led 2-0 in the second with the Maple Leafs scoring a pair of goals to tie the game. That didn’t faze the former University of Maine netminder as he was perfect the rest of the game against the very talented and explosive visitors. He finished with 35 saves in what turned out to be a 3-2 shootout win. Against Dallas, he once again was spectacular making point-blank save after point-blank save in another 3-2 win. He finished with 37 saves on the night and now has a 1.49 goals against average (GAA) and .952 save percentage (SV%). He single-handedly won both games for the Black and Gold.
Minus One: Third Period Melt Downs Continue
Sitting at 10-1-1, both losses this season for the Bruins have one common theme, third-period meltdowns and blown leads. It happened against the Anaheim Ducks in October when they scored two goals in the final minute to tie the game 3-3 and won it in overtime on a Mason McTavish goal. Against the Red Wings, a 3-2 lead in the third period quickly went away in a 5-4 loss.
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Detroit scored three goals 3:48 apart in the period by Dylan Larkin, David Perron, and Andrew Copp. David Pastrnak got one back on the power play for Boston, but they were not able to get one more past Ville Husso and took two minor penalties in the final two minutes to end any comeback chance they had. It truly was a third-period meltdown by Montgomery’s team.
Plus Two: Charlie Coyle
If there was one player who has been consistent lately, it’s been Charlie Coyle. The veteran center has been money at the face off dot and even scored a key goal against Detroit in the second period when the Red Wings were supplying pressure in a 2-2 game. He redirected a Jake DeBrusk pass to regain the lead takeaway some of the momentum for a short time.
Coyle has won 69.8% of his faceoffs in the last week and no one bigger than the final one in Dallas in the defensive zone. Leading 3-2 and the Stars having one last opportunity, Coyle won the face off with 5.7 seconds left and the puck went into the corner where Brandon Carlo was able to pin it long enough to allow the clock to run out. That was a big face off win in a spot where they no longer have Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci available.
Minus Two: Hampus Lindholm
Is it time to worry about Hampus Lindholm yet? It just might be. In 12 games this season, the left-shot has two assists and a plus/minus of minus-1, but it’s been how inconsistent he has been that has been troubling.
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He has turned the puck over a lot, not been able to get the puck out of the defensive end enough, and has been outworked by opponents along the wall and in front of the net. Last season, the 29-year-old took a big step forward in the absence of McAvoy at the beginning of the season and he carried that throughout the season. This season so far has been a struggle and the Bruins need him to turn it around quickly.
Plus Three: John Beecher & Mason Lohrei
Goals are going to be hard to come by at times this season for the Bruins and that has been evident in their low-scoring games to date. The normal scorers are going to be able to produce every night and they are going to need contributions from their younger players and that was the case in Dallas.
Rookies John Beecher and Mason Lohrei each scored their first career goals in the first period to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead and they were able to get a Brad Marchand goal in the third period to be the difference in the one-goal victory. Beecher scored his goal first midway through the period when he collected the puck off the wall, cut toward the net, and beat Stars’ goalie Jake Oettinger. Just under four minutes later, Lohrei collected the puck at the top of the slot and beat Oettinger with a wrist shot through a screen for a 2-0 lead.
Beecher has been very good this season for the Bruins, but when the Bruins get healthy on defense, they are going to be faced with a tough decision in what to do with Lohrei. Playing in the NHL would be best for him, but you get the feeling he’ll be sent down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Minus Three: Derek Forbort Injury
Defenseman Derek Forbort did not play in the last week with an injury and they are already down McAvoy to his suspension and Matt Grzelcyk with an injury that’s going to keep him out until the end of November at the earliest, losing Forbort is a big blow.
With the need for blueliners, Lohrei, Ian Mitchell and Parker Wortherspoon have done a nice job bridging the gap until Boston can get healthy, but Forbort’s loss is big considering how valuable he is to the penalty killing until and he has a plus-7 in just eight games.
Considering the missing pieces in the lineup on defense and the struggles scoring at times, beating Toronto and Dallas are impressive wins, despite their loss to Detroit. After the Islanders, the Bruins get their first look at the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 11 on the road. Montreal is playing well to begin the season and will be a good test for the Black and Gold.
