Two games into the regular season, two wins, two interesting games played, including a dazzling penalty shot by David Pastrnak who has notched three goals thus far. Solid goaltending picked up right where it left off last regular season, with both Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, each coming up with a win. The power play and penalty kill that turned rancid towards the end of last season, showed signs of improvement as the penalty kill blanked the opposition in the ten chances they had, and more importantly, the power play succeeded by scoring in one quarter of their chances.
One would think that all is clicking perfectly, obviously not in coach Boston coach Jim Montgomery’s mind, he feels the need for possible changes or moving players around. The somewhat surprising move in practice that caught many off-guard was the movement of rookie Matt Poitras, who is two games into his nine game trial, up to the top line, pairing him with veteran forward Brad Marchand, and Morgan Geekie. That move and Monty’s attempt to add some beef to the fourth line by testing the combination during practice by joining Milan Lucic, Johnny Beecher, and Jakub Lauko on the fourth line, likely caught people’s attention!
No to be overlooked is the solid play of recent acquisition James van Riemsdyk who has shown that he doesn’t have any qualms about working the front of the net, and his pair of powerplay goals versus the Nashville Predators showed that he still has the scoring touch that he used many times as he burned the Bruins as their opponent.
In a recent press conference Montgomery was asked about the upcoming West Coast road trip and if it was a positive or negative – his answer was quick, and to the point. “It’s nothing but positive, it’s early in the year. These guys got to get to know each other, get to have dinner with each other. Get to walk around L.A. on a day off together, wherever they choose to go. It’s more about bonding time…and you learn more about yourself as a hockey player and team, when you’re on the road in a tough environment.”
Coming up on the West Coast trip that begins tonight (Thursday) when they take on the San Jose Sharks, following up with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, then finish up that portion of the trip with a stop in Anaheim to be hosted by the Ducks on Sunday. Their final stop on the road trip will take place on Tuesday, as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on their way back home, and a second chance to see Number One NHL pick, rookie Connor Bedard. This four-game road trip, their first of the season will have the Bruins returning to TD Garden ice on Thursday, October 26, to host the Anaheim Ducks at 7:00pm, as they begin a four-game homestand.