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Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins general manager, as well as team president Cam Neely, head coach Jim Montgomery and CEO Charlie Jacobs held a Start-of-Season press conference Monday. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Should the Bruins Panic About Their Slow Start?

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Zander Manning | Last updated 10/16/24

After four games, the Boston Bruins record sits at 2-2-0. While there is some optimism about how this season has turned out thus far in that the Bruins have not lost in overtime, there is some alarm about how many goals they have allowed and who they have allowed them to.

This week, Boston plays four Central Division opponents in a row — three on the road and one at home — before returning to Eastern Conference play in a matchup with its Atlantic Division foe the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While, it may be a sluggish to start to the season for the Bruins, at this time, there should be no cause for alarm, at least in this reporter’s eyes.

Why Shouldn’t Fans Be Concerned?

In its next five games (in order), Boston takes on the Colorado Avalanche, Utah Hockey Club, and Nashville Predators all on the road, before returning home for a three-game homestand against the Dallas Stars, its first matchup with a divisional foe in the Maple Leafs, and Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia Flyers.

While the Bruins have a daunting five games ahead of them, the positive to take away from this stretch is that they get four Western Conference games out of the way early. Following the trip out west and the one home game against the Stars, they only have to face all the Western Conference opponents one more time and each other game – with the exception of a game in Dallas – is at home at the TD Garden.

In addition to getting these games out of the way early, Boston is already getting excellent numbers from David Pastrnak and Mark Kastelic, not to mention new center Elias Lindholm.

All three have played in each of the first four games, have scored at least two goals, and have combined for a total of 14 points. Pastrnak leads the team in goals with three, but Lindholm and Kastelic are very bright stars on this team as well, especially the latter who has, as Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston said, given their depth on the fourth line. Lindholm and Kastelic are tied for the team lead in points with two goals and three assists each.

These three are just the start of why it’s not time to panic. Brad Marchand hasn’t even gotten started yet. Through four games, he and fellow forward Charlie Coyle have yet to score, with the latter not even tallying a point yet.

Coyle was recently challenged by head coach Jim Montgomery to be better, something he acknowledges needs to happen in order for the team to be successful. Rest assured, however, once those two get started, it’s looking like it’s going to be hard to stop this team.

While the task at hand of going out west is very daunting, this marks the second straight season where the Bruins have had an early Western Conference road trip. In the 2023-24 season, they won each game. Now, while this one is not as taxing of a trip as the entire California trip they went on last season, it is still a trip where the travel alone will take more out of them than a trip around New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia would.

Time Off Should Help Boston

Going into the road trip, Boston will have the most time off it has had since the time between its final preseason game and opening night.

Sure, two-and-a-half days off to start the week, as opposed to two days is not much, but it is still extended rest. After facing the same team twice, and only managing to outscore their opponents 11-8 on the homestand that followed, perhaps a change of scenery, especially following an early game on Oct. 14, will do the Bruins some good.

During the week, Boston played four games in a matter of one week (including the holiday on Monday.) Now, going into this trip where they play three consecutive road games, the Bruins will have three days off in between each game giving them ample time to watch film, practice, and adjust to each changing time zone they play in.

What Should Fans Expect?

First up on the trip tonight, Boston takes on Colorado at Ball Arena in Denver.

Despite starting the season 0-3-0, the Avalanche could be a tough customer for the visiting Bruins, especially with the defensive core combination of Cale Makar and Devon Toews. The key to the game, however, will hinge on Boston taking advantage of a lack of depth at forward for Colorado and scoring early.

Call it advantage Avalanche, as the Bruins have lost four of the last five meetings between the two teams. Puck drop tonight is at 9:30 p.m. EST.