by Bob Morello
Bruins keep pace in tight race
A lot was happening for the Bruins on Monday, as they prepared for a hat-trick of road games, making stops in St. Louis (Blues) on Tuesday, Winnipeg (Jets) Thursday 8:00pm, and Minnesota (Wild) on Sunday at 6:00pm. Some excitement was due to the possibility of having a pair of injured players finally returning to the lineup. The expectations featured the return of Bruins’ scorer/playmaker, David Pastrnak and defenseman Charlie McAvoy possibly being cleared to play. Pastrnak, who had been suffering with a lower-body injury that kept him out for five games, and close to two weeks is considered probable in the next game or two. McAvoy on the other hand is likely to be a bit slower on his return from the facial surgery he had performed following the November 15 injury he absorbed. Prior to leaving for the road trip, there was hope regarding the return of both players to the lineup during the scheduled three-game road trip. One of the recent positive outcomes for the Bruins has been the strong play of their netminders, Joonas Korpisalo looked solid in last week’s win over the St. Louis Blues during a 5-2 victory after not getting the start in net for an extended period. Jeremy Swayman has been on fire lately, and he’s been coach Marco Sturm’s choice netminder most often, and he has responded well, as prior to the trip, he had posted a solid record of 9-3-0 in his last dozen starts, with a record of 12-7-0. Much of the Bruins’ recent resiliency has benefitted from the scoring touch of Morgan Geekie and Alex Steeves. Geekie’s soft touch around the net is no surprise, but Steeves’ contributions are a new found blessing.
Following this brief road trip, the Bruins will return to TD Garden ice on Tuesday to host the Utah Mammoth in a 7:00pm start, and Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at 7:00pm. Next up will be visits to TD Garden from the Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, to complete this homestand that has the locals playing five games in eight days. Last week’s Bruin Beat column listed how tight both Eastern Conference divisions are after 30 games or less. In the Atlantic Division the Detroit Red Wings (35 points) hold the top spot, with Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins tied for second with 34 points (17-13-0). The margin between first place and seventh place Ottawa Senators (30) is five points. Similarly, the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division is nearly as tight, with the Washington Capitals holding down the top spot with 39 points, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are residing in the eighth and final spot with 32 points – a gap of seven points from first to last.