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The Bruins went a perfect 3-0 last week, picking up wins vs. the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Columbus Blue Jackets. This was a solid week if you are a Boston fan, or just have a lot of the Bruins in your fantasy lineups, as they not only went undefeated but also got Brad Marchand back in the lineup earlier than expected. The only sour note was the fact that oft-injured center David Krejci was placed on IR with an upper-body injury.
The win over the Stars was a great tone-setter for the Bruins. Boston was again at home for this game and hosting a Dallas team who was coming off its first loss of the season. Both of these teams have been great at limiting shots and scoring chances through the first couple of weeks, and also feature goaltenders who are among the league leaders in save percentage and GAA. Ultimately though, it was Linus Ullmark who outdueled Jake Oettinger. Ullmark won his fifth game of the season against Dallas, stopping 31 of 30 shots, and the Bruins’ top six forwards did all the damage with Taylor Hall, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron all scoring.
The next meeting for Boston was also at home, but this time against a more average team in the Detroit Red Wings. Despite Detroit starting the season well with a couple of early wins, this team is simply not on the level of the Bruins in terms of creating chances. Boston outshot Detroit 33-29, got two goals from Brad Marchand (who made a surprise early return to the lineup), and also saw Jeremy Swayman grab his first win of the season. It was about as perfect a game as you could hope for from a Boston standpoint.
The Bruins’ last win came in a similar dominating fashion. Boston started off its road trip in what could have been an obvious letdown spot, but took care of business and handed the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-0 defeat. David Pastrnak put together his fourth multiple-point effort in a row, landing a goal and an assist. He also moved into second in the Art Ross race for the most points scored on the season. The win was significant as it marked Linus Ullmark’s second road win and his first shutout of the season. Ullmark is among the league leaders in save percentage and has been a huge part of Boston’s early season success.
Top Goal Scorer: David Pastrnak, 7 goals
Top Point Getter: David Pastrnak (17 pts - Patrice Bergeron is second with 9 pts)
Top Goalie: Linus Ullmark - 6 games started (6-0-0, 1.70 GAA and .945 save%)
Bruins upcoming schedule for the week of November 1:
- Tuesday, November 1 at Pittsburgh Penguins
- Thursday, November 3 at New York Rangers
- Saturday, November 5 at Toronto Maple Leafs
- Monday, November 7 vs. St. Louis Blues
Bruins DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games
Injury update: Charlie McAvoy (IR), David Krejci (IR)
Tuesday, November 1 at Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins should be a good test for the Bruins. Pittsburgh ranks seventh in xGF% (expected goals for percentage) and is generally just as strong as Boston at creating chances at 5v5. The Bruins have been the clear better team on special teams and in net, though, as Pittsburgh is trending in the bottom 10 in the league on the penalty kill. The Penguins have also been in a funk of late on offense and scored just three times in their last three games (all losses). The Penguins’ offense could surprise and make this a higher-scoring affair, but Boston is getting Pittsburgh in a deep slump, which makes this a good setup for their best forwards to put down big fantasy games.
Thursday, November 3 at New York Rangers
This is a matchup between two of the best teams in the Eastern conference. Despite enduring a four-game losing streak already, the Rangers have looked like a dangerous team and have been an explosive offense at times. They’ll be at home in this game and in a good spot to take advantage of a potentially tired Boston squad that will be playing the third game of a road trip. Igor Shesterkin is never an easy matchup for opposing forwards, so for fantasy purposes don’t be shocked if this is the game where Pastrnak and some of the other top-six forwards finally put up some disappointing fantasy lines.
Saturday, November 5 at Toronto Maple Leafs
Luckily for the Bruins, they have a good bounce-back spot this coming Saturday against the now-struggling Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs’ experiment in net this season is starting to show some serious cracks as their last three games (all losses) have seen their goalies put up save percentages well under .900. Toronto’s hope here is that they can catch Boston on tired legs (on the fourth game of a road trip), however, that may not matter much as the Bruins’ netminders are both better than whoever Toronto will be putting out. A higher-scoring affair on a Saturday night game could be on tap and this makes for a good spot to target Boston’s bigger names for fantasy purposes.
Monday, November 7 vs. St. Louis Blues
The Blues are another team that could make for a sneaky good matchup for the Bruins’ best forwards. After a solid start to the season, St. Louis has allowed 18 goals over a three-game losing streak and may be starting to regret allowing Ville Husso to walk over the offseason. It’s possible the Blues get things turned around by the time Boston comes to town, but they’re in the bottom half of the league in xGF% and have major issues in net right now that may not be solvable without some change in personnel. Boston’s top players should end the week with some great fantasy output against the Blues.
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