Despite starting the 2025-26 season on a strong note with three wins in their first four games, the Bruins have very much come back down to Earth since then, having dropped seven of their last eight games. Last week, Boston dropped games to the Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators, but was able to top a Colorado Avalanche squad in the middle of a slump.
David Pastrnak (5G, 8A) leads the club in points and is tied for the fourth-most shots on goal in the NHL, with Morgan Geekie (7G, 2A) and Pavel Zacha (2G, 7A) rounding out the top three. Geekie stepped up in a big way for the Bruins last week, netting five goals in four games, but it wasn’t enough to stack wins. Across last week’s four matchups, Boston allowed 5.00 goals per game and struggled to find success on special teams. Jeremy Swayman (3.45 GAA, .887 SV%) allowed three goals against the Panthers and seven goals against the Ducks, but he played well against the Avalanche, stopping 31 of 33 shots. Joonas Korpisalo (4.03 GAA, .845 SV%) hasn’t been the most trustworthy backup, either, posting a 1-3-0 record in four starts.
Looking ahead to this week’s matchups, the Bruins will begin a three-game homestand against the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes.
Bruins’ upcoming schedule for the week of October 28
- Tuesday, October 28 vs. New York Islanders
- Thursday, October 30 vs. Buffalo Sabres
- Saturday, November 1 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Bruins’ DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games
Tuesday, October 28 vs. New York Islanders
- The New York Islanders are in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-3-1 record, nine points and a +2 goal differential.
- Despite dropping their first three games, the Islanders have turned things around. New York ranks third in goals per game, ninth in shots per game and 10th in xGoals per 60. This offensive consistency has led to wins for the club, but its once-dependable goaltending has been lackluster to open the new season. The Islanders rank ninth in goals allowed per game and third-to-last in xGoals against per 60. The club has also struggled to find success on special teams, ranking in the bottom half of the league in both PP% and PK%.
- Nine different skaters have netted at least two goals for the Islanders, with Bo Horvat (5G, 4A) and Anders Lee (2G, 6A) leading the way. 2025 first overall pick, Matthew Schaefer (2G, 5A), ranks second on the team in assists, but has been left off the stat sheet the past two games after securing all seven of his points across New York’s first six games of the season. As I alluded to above, the goaltending has surprisingly held back the team, with Ilya Sorokin (3.70 GAA, .875 SV%) having an uncharacteristic start to the new season and averaging just 7.6 DraftKings fantasy points per game. Out of 68 eligible goaltenders, Sorokin ranks 53rd in goals saved above expected. Luckily, David Rittich (2.01 GAA, .940 SV%) sports a 2-0-0 record and has been stellar between the pipes, ranking 10th in goals saved above expected.
Thursday, October 30 vs. Buffalo Sabres
- The Buffalo Sabres are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-4-1 record, nine points and a 0 goal differential.
- The Sabres seem to be taking a step in the right direction, but still remain a middling squad with subpar goaltending and not enough elite talent offensively. Buffalo has averaged 3.00 goals per game while allowing 3.00 goals per game, so at least the club is consistent, right? The Sabres’ underlying metrics are not kind, however, with the team ranking 27th in xGoals%, 22nd in xGoals per 60 and fourth in xGoals against per 60. The special teams play has been surprisingly impressive, with Buffalo ranking 10th in PP% and first in PK%. It’s a testament to how strong the penalty kill has been, considering this team ranks sixth in penalty minutes per game.
- While Zach Benson (0G, 7A) is the only player averaging a point per game, Buffalo has received some solid production from its middle-six roles, particularly Jason Zucker (4G, 2A) and Jack Quinn (3G, 3A), who are averaging 8.5 and 8.0 DraftKings fantasy points, respectively. One potential negative for the club is that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (3.90 GAA, .826 SV%) is healthy again and will be taking starts from Alex Lyon (2.61 GAA, .923 SV%), who has been one of the best Sabres’ goaltenders in recent memory. UPL just returned on Saturday against Toronto, so the sample size is small, but he ranks 55th out of 68 in goals saved above expected. Lyon ranks ninth in that same category.
Saturday, November 1 vs. Carolina Hurricanes
- The Carolina Hurricanes are in third place in both the Metropolitan Division and fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-2-0 record, 12 points and a +9 goal differential.
- The Hurricanes are perennial regular-season powerhouses. The club ranks fourth in goals per game and allows the 12th-fewest goals per game. Carolina’s underlying metrics make the club even stronger, ranking fourth in both xGoals per 60 and xGoals%, as well as second in Corsi%. One major weakness of this Canes’ squad is their lack of success on the power play, issues that date back to last season. The Canes rank dead last in PP%, and have generated the fifth-worst 5v4 xGoals%.
- The usual suspects are leading the way in terms of points for the Hurricanes––both Seth Jarvis (7G, 4A) and Sebastian Aho (4G, 6A). The overall team production has been impressive, too, with 13 different skaters recording at least one goal and 17 skaters recording at least one point. Even the production from the defensive pairings has been strong. Although, I’d assume Carolina is primarily looking for production from its newest addition, Nikolaj Ehlers (0G, 3A), who has gotten off to a slow start with his new team and is averaging just 7.6 DraftKings fantasy points per game. Frederik Andersen (2.72 GAA, .901 SV%) sports a 4-1-0 record and has avoided his usual early-season injury thus far. Carolina’s backup, Brandon Bussi (2.33 GAA, .911 SV%), has been a nice surprise for the club, too, as he is technically outplaying Andersen and even ranks higher than him in both goals saved above expected and SV% above expected.
