The Boston Bruins just returned from their annual West Coast trip, visiting all three California teams: San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks with three games in four nights. Unsurprisingly, the former Presidents’ Trophy winners swept the state, outscoring their opponents by a 10-4 margin.
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As expected, captain Brad Marchand and sniper David Pastrnak combined for eight points, with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman making 88 saves for a .957 save percentage on the trip. Additionally, rookie Matthew Poitras earned his first two-goal game of his career against the Ducks, and Boston had three different skaters tally game-winning goals.
Interestingly, this is not the first time in the past decade that the Bruins have swept through California. However, it wasn’t always this easy. Considering Boston has played the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks in consecutive games 15 times before 2023-24, this trip didn’t become a focal point on the schedule until the 2013-14 season.
Bruins’ Complicated History With California Trips
As many hockey fans know, the Bruins have been playing California-based NHL teams since expansion in 1967. Although there were two teams for a while, the Kings monopolized professional hockey in the state for quite sometime after the California Golden Seals left in 1976. Ultimately, the NHL returned to the Bay Area in 1991 with the Sharks, just a few seasons before the Ducks came to Anaheim in 1993.
Surprisingly, the Bruins didn’t play all three teams in consecutive games until the 1997-98 season, when they lost to San Jose but beat Anaheim and Los Angeles. Moreover, this leg of the trip was in the middle of a lengthy eight-game road trip across the Western Conference. Additionally, the teams met again in 1999-2000, with Boston jetting through California on another long trip three time zones away.
Although the teams continued to meet on various road trips throughout the early 2000s, the official California road trip didn’t come to fruition until the 2013-14 season. After almost two decades of playing in the Golden State as part of a long road trip, Boston finally caught a break and got their chance to visit all three teams without jumping up and down the West Coast to cram in as many games as possible in a short period.
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During the first official California trip in 2013-14, the Bruins only beat the Sharks, going 1-2-0, scoring five goals compared to giving up nine in the three contests. However, things only got worse in 2014-15, with the home teams earning a three-game sweep, outscoring the visitors 12-6, with the Kings pitching a 2-0 shutout. Moreover, it was another messy adventure in 2015-16, with the Ducks securing a 4-0 shutout and Boston coming home winless and outscored nine to three.
Boston’s Recent Success Highlights the Importance of California Trip
After piling up the losses in California from 2013 to 2016, the Bruins turned the tide on their West Coast rivals, going a fantastic 14-3-0 since the 2016-17 season. Meanwhile, the only team to beat them in the previous seven seasons at home has been the Ducks, who snuck in wins in 2017, 2018, and 2022. The Bruins have won their last six games in California, outscoring everyone by a 26-10 margin.
Meanwhile, Pastrnak enjoys playing against the Ducks, Sharks, and Kings, racking up 20 points in his last nine games in California, with Marchand collecting 17 points in his previous 12 contests against those clubs in their home rinks. Considering these cross-country trips usually give teams a chance to bond, it’s also an opportunity for the leaders to step up and guide their clubs to wins far away from home against opponents they don’t routinely see.
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Even though the Bruins haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 2011, they are the third-winningest team since San Jose joined the league in 1991-92, with a 1,278-824-140-201 record. Additionally, although they have never played any of the California-based teams in the playoffs, the importance of this particular road trip every year is a golden opportunity to get wins and points that help secure postseason spots.
Realistically, the Bruins’ lineup is bound to change every season, but everyone in the dressing room knows that the California trip will eventually pop on the schedule. Ultimately, part of the process of chasing playoff spots and championships includes overcoming critical junctions of the season, including spending time on the West Coast, where the Bruins’ franchise has found great success over the past decade.
