The Boston Bruins won two of their three matchups last week, topping the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets, while losing 2-6 to the Minnesota Wild. Boston is tied with the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division with a 19-14-0 record, 38 points, and a +4 goal differential. The Bruins will begin a five-game homestand, with four opponents on tap for the upcoming week –– the Utah Mammoth, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Ottawa Senators.
David Pastrnak (13G, 23A) returned to the lineup last week and secured seven points across Boston’s three matchups, while Morgan Geekie (22G, 13A) was unable to find the back of the net last week after a strong first two months of the season. Charlie McAvoy (0G, 15A) also made his return for Boston’s previous two matchups, as he dealt with a facial injury that left him sidelined for the back half of November. Jeremy Swayman (2.83 GAA, .908 SV%) went 1-1 last week, securing a 5-2 win over the Blues but allowing six goals on 31 shots in the 2-6 loss to the Wild on Dec. 14.
Top Point Getter: David Pastrnak – 13 goals, 23 assists, 36 points
Top Goaltender: Jeremy Swayman – 13-8-0 record, 2.83 GAA, .908 SV%
Bruins’ upcoming schedule for the week of December 16
- Tuesday, December 16 vs. Utah Mammoth
- Thursday, December 18 vs. Edmonton Oilers
- Saturday, December 20 vs. Vancouver Canucks
- Sunday, December 21 vs. Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins’ DraftKings Fantasy Preview
Tuesday, December 16 vs. Utah Mammoth
- The Utah Mammoth are in fourth place in the Central Division and ninth place in the Western Conference with a 16-15-3 record, 35 points, and a +5 goal differential.
- Utah enters the new week riding a two-game winning streak after a rough month of November, in which the club went 4-8-3, while allowing 3.1 goals per game. Still, this is a young and rising Mammoth squad that ranks seventh in 5v5 goals for per 60 and third in 5v5 Corsi%. The club would welcome some improvement on the power play, as it ranks 27th in PP%, but luckily, its penalty kill unit ranks seventh in PK%. While Utah scores goals efficiently, it also allows a ton of them, ranking seventh in 5v5 goals against per 60.
- The club recently placed its fifth-ranked point-getter, Logan Cooley (14G, 9A), on Injured Reserve, but there is enough depth to make up for his absence. Nick Schmaltz (12G, 18A) has led the team in points in his first-line role alongside both Clayton Keller (10G, 18A) and JJ Peterka (13G, 12A). Peterka has been Utah’s driving factor at 5v5, as he ranks 21st in the NHL in 5v5 points per 60 while averaging 9.5 DraftKings fantasy points per game (DK FPTS). Karel Vejmelka (2.78 GAA, .893 SV%) is 14-9-2 across 26 starts this season and ranks inside the top 30 in goals saved above expected. Surprisingly, Vejmelka’s 14 wins are tied for the most goaltender wins in the NHL.
Thursday, December 18 vs. Edmonton Oilers
- The Edmonton Oilers are in fourth place in the Pacific Division and seventh place in the Western Conference with a 15-12-6 record, 36 points, and a -4 goal differential.
- Thursday’s tilt against Boston will mark Edmonton’s fourth game of a five-game road trip, so fatigue could end up being a huge factor. The Oilers enter the new week having gone 6-3-1 over the past 10 games, while averaging 4.1 goals per game. The club ranks third in goals for per 60, but it hasn’t necessarily resulted in success because it ranks seventh in goals against per 60. It also doesn’t help that Edmonton ranks 14th in 5v5 goals for per 60, suggesting that it struggles at even strength and may rely on the power play a bit too much. It has worked most of the time; however, as the Oilers rank third in PP%, despite drawing the second-fewest penalty minutes per 60.
- The club recently shook up its goaltending situation by trading for Tristan Jarry (2.69 GAA, .908 SV%), which may not be a great long-term move, but it certainly gives the team a better chance to win games now. Jarry ranks 15th in goals saved above expected and 17th in SV% above expected, while averaging 13.2 DK FPTS per game. Edmonton is dealing with plenty of depth injuries, as well as a top defenseman in Jake Walman (3G, 7A), but one constant remains –– Connor McDavid (18G, 34A) and Leon Draisaitl (17G, 26A). McDavid has simply been on another level lately, totaling 16 points across the last seven games.
Saturday, December 20 vs. Vancouver Canucks
- The Vancouver Canucks are in eighth place in the Pacific Division and 16th place in the Western Conference with a 12-17-3 record, 27 points, and a -23 goal differential.
- The Canucks have quickly turned into the worst team in the NHL, and it is going to get even worse after trading away their franchise cornerstone player, Quinn Hughes, to the Wild last week. Vancouver has a league-low 27 points and is struggling to score more goals than it is allowing. The club ranks 27th in goals for per 60, second in goals against per 60 and 28th in xGoals%. Things aren’t working, and the defense and special teams could use plenty of improvement, too. While the Canucks rank 11th in PP%, they rank 29th in PK%, while taking the 11th-most penalties per 60.
- Elias Pettersson (8G, 14A) was involved in plenty of trade rumors last season, but he survived longer than Hughes did. Pettersson is Vancouver’s leading point-getter, but he has been sidelined since Dec. 5. Vancouver did receive Marco Rossi (4G, 9A) from the Hughes trade, and he will likely slot into the 1C role with Pettersson sidelined. Just 12 skaters have eclipsed double-digit points, and only Kiefer Sherwood (13G, 4A) has eclipsed double-digit goals. The Canucks have dressed four different goaltenders thus far, with Kevin Lankinen (3.49 GAA, .878 SV%) logging the most starts, as Thatcher Demko (2.67 GAA, .903 SV%) was sidelined for most of November. Out of 82 eligible goaltenders, Lankinen ranks 62nd in goals saved above expected.
Sunday, December 21 vs. Ottawa Senators
- The Ottawa Senators are in sixth place in the Atlantic Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-13-4 record, 34 points, and a -3 goal differential.
- The Senators enter the new week having lost four of their last six games, but the losses have come down to the wire. Ottawa is the definition of mid, however, as it ranks 15th in goals for per 60 and 22nd in Goals%. The Senators rank 12th in goals against per 60, which is an improvement considering they allowed four goals per game during the entire month of October. Luckily, the club has taken advantage on the power play, ranking sixth in PP%, third in power play goals scored and fifth in penalty minutes drawn per 60.
- Seven different skaters have eclipsed 15 points, with Tim Stutzle (15G, 18A) and Drake Batherson (13G, 17A) leading the way in terms of points. Batherson has been particularly lights out, ranking 25th in the NHL in points per 60, while averaging 12 DK FPTS per game. Brady Tkachuk (2G, 9A) returned to the team in late November and has totaled 11 points across 12 games this season. Good news may be coming for the Senators soon, as Thomas Chabot (2G, 8A) is reportedly skating and ramping up his activities to return to the club. No team in the NHL receives more inconsistent goaltending than the Senators, whether it is Linus Ullmark (3.00 GAA, .879 SV%) or Leevi Merilainen (3.32 GAA, .877 SV%). Out of 82 goaltenders, Ullmark and Merilainen rank 82nd and 76th in goals saved above expected, respectively.
