After seven straight games against Western Conference opponents to start the season, the Boston Bruins will now face three strong Atlantic Division opponents over the next four games.
The Boston Bruins are no longer undefeated. After sweeping a four-game road trip through California with a stop in Chicago, the Bruins nearly set a new franchise record for best start to a season with their seventh win.
Instead, they squandered a 3-1 lead with 1:55 left in regulation to the Anaheim Ducks, who tied it with two 6-on-5 goals before Mason McTavish scored the overtime winner in front of a stunned TD Garden crowd.
“I know they say that game after a long road trip is sort of like a trap game, I guess, so to speak, and we really tried to focus hard on it not being that,” Charlie McAvoy said after the game.
Now 6-0-1, Boston has only played against Western Conference opponents. That will change Saturday.
Not only will the Bruins get their first taste of Eastern Conference play in 2023-24, but their next four games come against Atlantic Division rivals.
It starts against the Detroit Red Wings, headlined by a resurgent Alex DeBrincat. In his first season with Detroit after an underwhelming year with the Ottawa Senators, leads the NHL with nine goals. He ranks third in points with 13, trailing only New Jersey’s Jack Hughes and his Red Wings teammate Dylan Larkin.
Then on Monday, the Bruins have their first chance to avenge last year’s playoff collapse against the Florida Panthers. The Toronto Maple Leafs come to town Thursday, then the Bruins head to Detroit on Nov. 4 to wrap up the slate.
“We’ve got three real good teams coming in, and we’ll see where we stand in our own division,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said on Friday. “We’ve had a good start to the year, and I think our division is really strong and really competitive all the way, top to bottom. So it’s going to be a good test for us coming up.”
Detroit (5-2-1) has the second-best record in the conference, and Toronto (5-2-0) is tied for third with the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Toronto also brings offensive firepower, led by Auston Matthews (seven goals), William Nylander and John Tavares (11 points each). The Maple Leafs also boast one of the top goaltenders so far this season in Joseph Woll, albeit with a small sample size. Woll is second in the NHL in both save percentage (.961) and goals against average (1.33).
Florida’s Sam Reinhart (7) is tied with Matthews for second on the NHL goals leaderboard, and the Bruins will have to confront their heartbreaking first round exit to the Panthers, who advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
“They’re all playing really well right now,” Matt Grzelcyk told reporters on Friday. “You want to create some separation within the division, so we’re well aware of how good of opponents they are, and want to make sure we start on the right foot.”
After Thursday’s wake up call, this upcoming week will show exactly how Boston stacks up against the rest of the division at this point of the season.