Jan. 1 is just two weeks away, and the Boston Bruins have just six more games to play until I exchange the 2023 Bruins calendar on my wall with the 2024 one (thank you, Santa. Your consistency is comparable to that of Patrice Bergeron).
The schedule features four games on the road, dates with some hot Western Conference teams, and some Divisional opponents.
After a hot start, Boston went 5-4-2 in their last 11 games. These next six games could prove to be a pivotal point in their 2023-24 season.
A Wild Double-Date
The Bruins will face the Minnesota Wild twice before Christmas with the two contests (Dec. 19 and 23) split up by a flight to Winnipeg to take on the Jets (Dec. 22).
As of the morning of Dec. 18, the Wild (12-12-4) find themselves second-to-last in the Central Division. They have two games in hand over the two teams above them: the St. Louis Blues, who have three more points, and the Arizona Coyotes, ahead of them by four.
But the Wild have refused to be a team that can be overlooked. They had just five wins in their first 19 games, stumbling to a dreadful 5-10-4 record featuring a four-game losing streak and seven-game losing streak. That’s when head coach Dean Evason was fired and replaced by John Hynes.
Under Hynes, the Wild put together a four-game winning streak before dropping two games in a row. Since then, they’ve shutout the Seattle Kraken 3-0 and squeaked out two shootout wins over the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
At 36 years old, Mats Zuccarello leads the Wild in points, 28, with six goals and 22 assists, followed by Kirill Kaprizov with 24 points. Joel Eriksson Ek has been the team’s most successful goal scorer with 14 followed by Marco Rossi who has 10.
The Bruins would certainly want the hot streak to be extinguished, but not only for their own sake as the Wild are taking a brief tour of the Eastern Conference. They play the Pittsburgh Penguins a day before facing the Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Bruins again, and the Detroit Red Wings.
The Bruins need to take their first game against the Wild, who will be coming off that back-to-back with the Penguins. More rest, no travel and home-ice advantage all favor the B’s. But the Wild will also have that when they face the Bruins again as the Bruins will be coming off a game in Winnipeg the night before visiting Minnesota.
A Quick Trip to Winnipeg
The Jets (18-9-2) are currently fighting for supremacy in the Central Division, just two points behind the Colorado Avalanche with two games in hand. Winnipeg’s 38 points have them tied with the Dallas Stars for second place in the division.
The Jets are is 6-1-0 in their past seven games and have not given up more than two goals in the month of December. They’re coming off 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings and 6-2 win over the Avalanche. It’s a hot streak the Bruins may not want to end quite yet: they face the Habs and Wings before Boston pays them a visit.
The Jets’ biggest threats are Mark Scheifele (33 points) and Kyle Connor (28 points), who are both averaging more than a point per game, but the Bruins won’t have to deal with Connor as he’s currently out six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury. Following them is defenseman Josh Morrissey with five goals and 21 assists in 29 games – he has notched seven of those assists on the power play. Nikolaj Ehlers (22 points) and 10th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Cole Perfetti (19), round out the top five point-getters.
Back In The East
The Bruins will get some rest over the holidays before heading to Buffalo to face the Sabres (Dec.27). They return home for a game with the New Jersey Devils (Dec. 30) and then head to Detroit to finish the calendar year (Dec. 31).
The Sabres (13-16-3) are only ahead of the Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division. However, as of Dec. 18, the Sens have a whopping six games in hand over Buffalo, having played the fewest games of any team this season (26). A road to the playoffs for the Sabres is slim, with a log jam of the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Red Wings, and Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of them.
But the Sabres rarely prove to be an easy win for the Bruins (if there is such a thing in hockey), no matter their place in the standings. With that said, looking ahead at the next two opponents, it’s one you’ve got to win. The Devils have been a thorn in the Bruins side this season, as have the Red Wings: The Wings dished out the Bruins’ first regulation loss this season while the Devils topped the B’s in overtime this past weekend.
Expectations For the Bruins
The Bruins’ next six games feature just two in Boston. You can’t set your expectation as a six-game winning streak, but there are a couple of must-wins for the Bruins during this stretch. Namely, that’s the first matchup with the Wild and their post-Christmas clash with the Sabres. Away games against the Jets, Wild and Red Wings are all toss-ups..
That leads me to think the home game against the Devils could also be considered a must-win. I’ll set my expectation to 4-2-0, with one of those losses coming against either the Jets or the Wild in those back-to-backs before Christmas, or to the Red Wings in Detroit on New Year’s Eve – I realize playing the guessing game in hockey is dangerous.
Regardless, the Bruins have a chance to turn their recent woes around and end the year celebrating rather than watching themselves trickle down the standings.