Bruins hockey is so back, and it was a good opening week for the club, securing wins in three of four games. Boston topped its first three matchups against the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres, but fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The Bruins outshot the Bolts, 33 to 23, and scored all three goals in the second period, but were unable to secure the divisional road win.
David Pastrnak (1G, 4A) leads the team in points and is already tied for the second-most shots on goal in the NHL (18). Pavel Zacha (1G, 4A) has found success on the second line and is tied with Pastrnak for the most points on the team through the first four games. Perhaps the biggest development for this Bruins team is Jeremy Swayman (1.00 GAA, .966 SV%) returning to his elite form and picking up two dominant wins to start the new season. As a team, Boston is one of only four teams that have yet to allow a power-play goal.
Looking ahead to this week’s matchups, the Bruins will begin a three-game Western Conference road trip, with the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Utah Mammoth all on tap.
Bruins upcoming schedule for the week of October 14
- Thursday, October 16 at Vegas Golden Knights
- Saturday, October 18 at Colorado Avalanche
- Sunday, October 19 at Utah Mammoth
Bruins DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games
Thursday, October 16 at Vegas Golden Knights
- The Vegas Golden Knights are in second place in the Pacific Division and eighth in the Western Conference with a 1-0-2 record, four points and a -1 goal differential.
- In 2024, the Golden Knights ranked fifth in goals per game (3.34), third in goals allowed per game (2.61), second in powerplay percentage (28.3%) and 26th in penalty kill percentage (75.7%). Vegas has started the new season essentially the same, posting 3.33 goals per game and a top-5 powerplay percentage (30.8%), but its goaltending has struggled, allowing 3.34 goals per game.
- The club’s leading point-getter in 2024 was Jack Eichel, with 94 points, and he has picked up right where he left off, posting two goals and five assists through three games. Vegas has found production in its middle-six roles, too, with Mark Stone (5A) and Pavel Dorofeyev (5G), rounding out the top three. Dorofeyev leads the league in goals and is sporting an absurd 41.7% shot percentage to start the new season. Both Adin Hill (3.24 GAA) and Akira Schmid (2.99 GAA) have struggled a bit to start the season, an area of concern considering two of the Golden Knights’ first three opponents were among the worst teams in the league (Sharks and Kraken).
- There’s no denying Vegas’ talent, but the team has been in dogfights with San Jose and Seattle thus far. The absence of Alex Pietrangelo seems to be hurting the Golden Knights’ blue line more than expected, and the Bruins should look to take advantage of the early-season woes. Boston has dropped three of its last five meetings against Vegas, including three of four games in 2024.
Saturday, October 18 at Colorado Avalanche
- The Colorado Avalanche are in first place in both the Central Division and Western Conference with a 3-0-1 record, seven points and a league-leading +5 goal differential.
- In 2024, the Avalanche ranked sixth in goals per game (3.33), 22nd in goals allowed per game (2.82), eighth in powerplay percentage (24.8%) and 12th in penalty kill percentage (79.8%). Colorado has yet to lose a game in regulation, and outside of that particular game, the club has allowed just one goal in each of the other three games.
- Nathan MacKinnon (4G, 4A) remains one of the best hockey players on the planet and happens to be tied with his teammate, Martin Necas (3G, 5A), for the most points in the NHL. That’s a cheat code, and it gets worse when you realize that Cale Makar (1G, 5A) is also inside the top 10 for points, too. The Avs have been perennial powerhouses, but the goaltending has been a big question mark the past few seasons. Scott Wedgewood (1.72 GAA, .936 SV%) seems to have patched that roster hole up in a big way thus far, starting all four games and playing at an elite level.
- Despite the club’s obvious struggles last season, the Bruins still managed to top the Avalanche in three of four games last season. In fact, Boston has won six of the last seven games versus Colorado. Saturday’s slate features 13 games, but Avalanche vs. Bruins may be the most anticipated matchup, especially if the Bruins show up like they have in the past.
Sunday, October 19 at Utah Mammoth
- The Utah Mammoth are in eighth place in the Central Division and 15th in the Western Conference with a 1-2-0 record, two points and a -2 goal differential.
- In 2024, the Mammoth (then-Hockey Club) ranked 21st in goals per game (2.93), 16th in goals allowed per game (3.01), 10th in powerplay percentage (21.2%) and 15th in penalty kill percentage (79.3%). This young and rising squad has come out a bit flat in 2025, however, averaging the second-fewest goals per game (1.67) and fielding a bottom-six powerplay unit that has converted just 10% of the time across three games.
- While Utah isn’t giving up many goals thus far, thanks to strong goaltending from the duo of Karel Vejmelka (1.99 GAA, .920 SV%) and Vitek Vanecek (2.01 GAA, .846 SV%), the offense has struggled. Its leading point-getter from a season ago, Clayton Keller (1A), has totaled just one assist and four shots on goal across three games, and only four skaters have netted at least one goal. Dylan Guenther (2G, 2A) leads the team in nearly every statistic and netted Utah’s game-winning goal in overtime against Nashville.
- The Bruins have found more success against this club than any other team in NHL history, sporting a .707 point percentage and a 58-21-7-3 record against it. These teams split the season series one apiece in 2024, but have gotten off to opposite starts for the new season. The Bruins look rejuvenated at each level of the ice and should present quite the challenge for the Mammoth, especially when considering their struggles against poor opponents to start the new season (Predators and Blackhawks).
