NHL hockey is officially back, which brings us back to our weekly Boston Bruins fantasy hockey previews. The 2024 season was a disappointing one for the Bruins, as the club finished dead last in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 76 points. Jeremy Swayman posted the worst season of his career with a .892 save percentage and 3.11 GAA. The club dealt with injuries to Hampus Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Poitras and worst of all, traded its long-time captain, Brad Marchand, to the Florida Panthers late in the season. All of this was enough for the team to also move on from head coach Jim Montgomery, replacing him with Marco Sturm.
Entering the new season, the Bruins also welcome some new faces to the roster. Both Tanner Jeannot and Viktor Arvidsson were added in the offseason and will contribute in middle-six roles, with David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, Boston’s top-two point-getters from 2024, leading the way. Pastrnak led the team in every statistical category and was still able to eclipse the 100-point mark for the third straight season, despite the club’s major struggles.
An important season lies ahead for Boston in what should be a highly competitive Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. The Bruins will open the season on the road against the Washington Capitals, then begin a three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bruins upcoming schedule for the week of October 8
- Wednesday, October 8 at Washington Capitals
- Thursday, October 9 vs. Chicago Blackhawks
- Saturday, October 11 vs. Buffalo Sabres
- Monday, October 13 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Bruins DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games
Wednesday, October 8 at Washington Capitals
- The Washington Capitals finished the 2024-25 season ranked first in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference with a 51-22-9 record, 111 points and a +56 goal differential.
- The Capitals ranked second in goals per game (3.49), ninth in goals allowed per game (2.79), 14th in powerplay percentage (23.5%) and fourth in penalty kill percentage (82.0%).
- The club’s leading point-getter was Dylan Strome with 29 goals and 53 assists, with Alex Ovechkin not too far behind with 44 goals and 29 assists. It was a historic season for the Capitals, as Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky for most goals in NHL history on top of the club finishing with 111 points, its most since 2017. The goaltending was above average as both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren each posted at least 20 wins and allowed fewer than 2.75 goals per game.
- Washington was an electric squad last season, but whether the magic continues in Ovechkin’s final season or not remains unknown. There were very few significant roster additions or departures, and some negative regression feels likely. Still, the Capitals were a top-10 home team in 2024 and will present quite the challenge for the Bruins.
Thursday, October 9 vs. Chicago Blackhawks
- The Chicago Blackhawks finished the 2024-25 season ranked last in the Central Division and 15th in the Western Conference with a 25-46-11 record, 61 points and a -70 goal differential.
- The Blackhawks ranked 26th in goals per game (2.73), 31st in goals allowed per game (3.56), seventh in powerplay percentage (24.9) and 14th in penalty kill percentage (79.3%).
- Connor Bedard led the club in both points (67) and assists (44), and was only one of three Blackhawks’ forwards to record at least 50 points, with Ryan Donato (62) and Teuvo Teravainen (58) being the other two. Spencer Knight is a small glimmer of hope for Chicago aside from Connor Bedard, as he was once regarded as one of the top NHL prospects in the league and has posted a .906 save percentage and 2.70 GAA across his last 25 starts.
- This club is still a long way away from being competitive, and especially struggled on the road in 2024, tying the Nashville Predators for the worst road record in the league. The Bruins went 1-1 against them last season, with the loss coming in the third-to-last game of the season.
Saturday, October 11 vs. Buffalo Sabres
- The Buffalo Sabres finished the 2024-25 season ranked seventh in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 36-39-7 record, 79 points and a -20 goal differential.
- The Sabres ranked 10th in goals per game (3.23), 30th in goals allowed per game (3.50), 24th in powerplay percentage (18.8%) and 23rd in penalty kill percentage (76.4%).
- Buffalo’s leading point-getter was Tage Thompson, who finished with 44 goals and 72 points, but it saw a key contributor in JJ Peterka, who was tied with Rasmus Dahlin for the second-most points with 68, leave via trade this offseason. The Sabres received both Josh Doan and Michael Kesserling in return, which should bolster their depth, but Kesserling is starting the season on injured reserve. The goaltending and lack of defensive depth hindered any sort of late-season run for Buffalo, as the club started multiple goalies and especially didn’t find consistency from its starter, Ukko Pekka-Luukkonen, who posted a .887 save percentage and 3.20 GAA.
- While things may be looking brighter for the Sabres, they’ve started off slow the past two seasons, and it may take a bit for the team to adjust to the loss of Peterka. Their injured reserve list is already quite lengthy, too, which will put the depth to the test immediately on the road, an environment they struggled in last season with the fifth-worst road record, conveniently ranked one spot behind the Bruins.
Monday, October 13 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
- The Tampa Bay Lightning finished the 2024-25 season ranked second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference with a 47-27-8 record, 102 points and a +75 goal differential.
- The Lightning ranked first in goals per game (3.56) and fourth in goals allowed per game (2.63), fifth in powerplay percentage (25.9%) and sixth in penalty kill percentage (81.6%).
- The club was led by the NHL’s leading point-getter, Nikita Kucherov, who posted his third-best season of his career with 121 points. Tampa Bay had four forwards finish with at least 80 points and eight forwards finish with at least 40 points on the season, and it remains one of the deepest teams in the league. Victor Hedman has bolstered the defense for years, and Andrei Vasilevskiy returned to his elite form last season, posting a .921 save percentage and 2.18 GAA on top of the second-most wins. Whether or not Vasilevskiy can stay healthy remains one of the Bolts’ biggest questions heading into the new season.
- The Bolts had a chance to make a deep postseason run in 2024, but unfortunately ran into the two-time Stanley Cup champion Panthers in the first round. The club lost virtually zero meaningful contributors while further bolstering its middle and bottom six, and will be a powerhouse out of the gate. Boston showed its competitive side against Tampa Bay last season, winning 3-of-7 games, all by at least three goals, so these two clubs are no strangers to higher-scoring games involving tons of fantasy points.
