Playing four NHL games on the road in six days is never easy. Playing three of those games in three different time zones is difficult and that’s what the Boston Bruins faced over the last six days. To compound matters, each of the four games required overtime or a shootout to decide the game. Not the best recipe for success on a grueling road trip out West.
After losses in the extra session to the Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes, and Vegas Golden Knights, the Bruins were able to salvage the final game of the trip with a 4-3 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on a Charlie McAvoy goal, his second of the game, 1:10 into overtime. Boston picked up five out of a possible eight points, but it was the way that they went about getting those points, going 1-0-3 to return home three points up on the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division. Here are three takeaways from the Black and Gold’s four-game road trip.
Bruins Injuries Pile up With Poitras, Ullmark & Carlo
Once again this season, injuries are testing the Bruins’ depth, and this time, they lost three key players on the trip to injuries, Brandon Carlo, Matthew Poitras, and Linus Ullmark. Boston is already without the services of Derek Forbort and after just getting Poitras back from the 2024 World Junior Championship, they lose him again.
Carlo was injured against the Avalanche on Jan. 8 and left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve. One night later against the Coyotes, Poitras left in the third period after a collision with Sean Durzi and appeared to have a shoulder injury, although Boston just said it was an upper-body injury. In overtime against Arizona, Ullmark, who needed assistance getting off the ice, left the game with an injury midway through the extra session and was replaced by Jeremy Swayman, who allowed the game-winning goal after sitting on the bench for nearly three hours.
Bruins Overtime/Shootout Struggles Continue
One area that has been an issue this season for the Bruins has been when going to overtime or a shootout. Yes, they are collecting at least one point each time, however, they have lost nine of their 14 games that have gone to overtime or a shootout, and leaving those points on the table is somewhat concerning and could prove costly at the end of the season in the standings.
Three of their first four games went to at least overtime and they lost all four. Colorado won in a shootout on a Nathan MacKinnon goal after David Pastrnak was stopped, then Arizona won in overtime the next night on a Nick Schmaltz goal with less than a minute left against a cold Swayman who just came on in favor of Ullmark. The toughest loss on the trip occurred against the Golden Knights and former coach Bruce Cassidy on Jan. 11 when Alex Pietrangelo finished off a 2-on-1 into an open net after some shaky defending from the Black and Gold. McAvoy salvaged the final game of the trip against St. Louis, but getting the second point moving forward in overtime or a shootout would go a long way into winning the division or finishing second or third.
Bruins Spend Too Much Time in the Penalty Box
The Bruins entered the game against St. Louis with the third-ranked penalty kill in the NHL, but if there was one thing about this trip, it was that they spent too much time in the penalty box. They were whistled for 17 minor penalties on the trip and allowed five power-play goals, one in each game and two against the Blues, who entered the game with the league’s 31st-ranked power play.
What makes it tough killing so many penalties is that they are down their top two defensemen, Carlo and Forbort, which puts more pressure and ice time on McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. Two power plays goals from the struggling man-advantage for St. Louis were the difference between a regulation win and having to go to overtime.
After a week on the road, Boston returns home Monday afternoon (Jan. 15) for a game against the New Jersey Devils, then they get two days off at home before playing the Avalanche. After the struggles over the last week, they will need the rest.
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