Tonight's Officials
Referees TJ Luxmore (21), Ghislain Hebert (22)
Linespersons Trent Knorr (74), Ryan Daisy (81)
Referees TJ Luxmore (21), Ghislain Hebert (22)
Linespersons Trent Knorr (74), Ryan Daisy (81)
TONIGHT’S GAME -The Bruins host the Ducks tonight in the second of two games between these teams this season and Anaheim’s lone visit toTD Garden this year ... The Bruins are 6-0-0 overall this season and they are 2-0-0 on home ice ... They are 6-0-0 vs. Western Conference teams. -The Bruins open their current four-game home stand tonight vs. Anaheim (0-0-0) ... They will continue hosting Detroit on Oct. 28, Florida on Oct. 30, and Toronto on Nov. 2.
MILESTONES APPROACHING - David Pastrnak is 2 games shy of his 600 NHL games. - Kevin Shattenkirk is 3 goals short of his 100th NHL goal. - James van Riemsdyk is 4 points shy of his 600th NHL assist. - Kevin Shattenkirk is 4 games short of his 900th NHL game. - Charlie Coyle is 6 points shy of his 400th NHL point. - Brad Marchand is 7 assists short of his 500th NHL assist. - James van Riemsdyk is 7 assists shy of his 300th NHL assist. - Derek Forbort is 7 points short of his 100th NHL point. - Charlie McAvoy is 8 assists short of his 200th NHL assist. - Charlie Coyle is 9 games short of his 800th NHL game. - Pavel Zacha is 9 goals shy of his 100th NHL goal. - Jeremy Swayman is 9 games short of his 100th NHL game. - Jake DeBrusk is 10 games short of his 400th NHL game.
INJURIES (3 man-games lost) - None reported.
BOSTON vs ANAHEIM, LIFETIME SERIES - The Bruins and Ducks are meeting for the 43rd time in their histories with Anaheim holding a 19-20-2-1 margin and 116-113 scoring edge in those games. - The Bruins and Ducks are even at 10-10-0-1 in 21 home games with Anaheim holding a 63-57 scoring advantage in those contests. - The Bruins have won their last three games of this lifetime series, including a 3-1 road win on 10/22 of this season
NUMBERS
1: Season series completed this season (ANA 2-0-0)
6: Game win streak to start this season, which has tied the best start by the Bruins team since 1937-38 (6-0-0).
7: Players on the current roster new to the organization this season – Johnny Beecher, Patrick Brown, Morgan Geekie, Milan Lucic, Matt Poitras, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk
9: Players on the current roster who played college hockey – Johnny Beecher, Patrick Brown, Charlie Coyle, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, Charlie McAvoy, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk
11: Former first round draft picks on the current roster – Johnny Beecher, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, Trent Frederic, Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, Kevin Shattenkirk, James van Riemsdyk, Pavel Zacha
96.0%: The Bruins killed their frst 18 times short and they are now 24/25 to open the season
579: Current streak of regular season and playoff games sold out at TD Garden.
Bruins aim for 7-0-0 start as Ducks visit
The Boston Bruins are 6-0-0 for only the second time in franchise history.
Ahead of a four-game homestand that starts Thursday against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery believes his team's game and overall identity continued to evolve while sweeping a four-game road trip, which concluded with a 3-0 win over Chicago on Tuesday.
"Loved the results, loved our goaltending," Montgomery said. "Starting to see our team identity build because I think (Saturday's) L.A. game and this game (Tuesday), you're starting to see us become a heavy, grinding team, which I think is what we're going to have to be."
With the Bruins offense taking a new shape following the retirement of top-two centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, stingy defense has been a huge key.
Boston's plus-12 goal differential sits behind three dynamic offensive clubs' -- Colorado, Vegas and Detroit -- but the seven goals allowed by Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman through six games are the fewest in the NHL by a wide margin (Dallas is next, allowing 10 goals in five games).
"These guys took close attention to detail, played the game plan perfectly," Swayman said in Chicago following his 10th career shutout. "That's special to see as a goalie, to see these guys work their butts off to get on the backcheck, taking away lanes, blocking shots and scoring some goals in a timely manner."
Alongside offensive leaders David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, 19-year-old rookie Matthew Poitras has emerged with three goals in his past two games. He scored his first two in the third period of Sunday's 3-1 win at Anaheim.
It is becoming almost a certainty that Poitras will use the first year of his three-year, entry-level contract to remain with Boston this season, as he would otherwise be returned to juniors after nine NHL games.
"Making it hard on us, isn't he?" Montgomery said. "He's doing a terrific job."
The Ducks head to Boston following Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win at Columbus, which snapped a three-game skid and marked their first road triumph.
Massachusetts native and former Bruin Frank Vatrano scored 2:20 into the extra session, his fifth goal through six games this season.
Vatrano capped a comeback from a 2-1 deficit that allowed Anaheim to erase what first-year coach Greg Cronin described as a "flat" start in the first period. The Ducks were outshot 37-27 but won 61.4 percent of their faceoffs and went 6-for-7 on the penalty kill in the game.
"I thought our penalty killing really won the game for us. A lot of guys did a great job blocking shots (21 in total)," Cronin said.
The Ducks have also been energized by a touted rookie, 2023 No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson, who has not played in the past two games as the team manages his workload.
Carlsson is one of several young Ducks who have made early impacts under Cronin, joining defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Jackson LaCombe and goaltender Lukas Dostal.
While centering Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry on the top line, Carlsson scored in his NHL debut last Thursday against Dallas.
"It's not easy to play in this league. This is a man's league," Vatrano said. "We're only a few games into this, but they're holding their own and they give us a breath of fresh air out there."
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