Boston Bruins DraftKings NHL Fantasy Hockey Preview: January 12 to January 18

The Boston Bruins have started the New Year off on the right foot, winning all three of their matchups against the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Boston still holds the best record in the entire league sitting at 32-4-4 and are 11 points ahead of the next closest team.

On Jan. 5, the Bruins traveled on the road to face the Kings. David Pastrnak continued his impressive campaign, netting the first and last Bruins’ goal of the game. Trent Frederic stepped up, scoring two goals and bringing his total to nine for the season. The game was close up until the third period, when Boston took over and netted three unanswered goals.

Two days later on Jan. 7, they headed to San Jose to face the struggling Sharks. Boston got the scoring going early, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead but San Jose wouldn’t go down easy. The game was tied 2-2 near the end of the second period but Pastrnak netted the final two goals himself with one coming on the power play to win the game, 4-2.

The following day, Boston had another weak and struggling opponent to take advantage of in a back-to-back set when they faced the Ducks on the road. Coming into the game, the Ducks allowed the most goals and shots per game — and the Bruins took advantage of that. Pastrnak netted his first hat trick of the year and the Bruins ended with 42 shots on goal. Jeremy Swayman stopped 28 of 29 shots for a save percentage of .966.

Top Goal Scorer: David Pastrnak — 32 goals (Jake DeBrusk is second with 16 goals)

Top Point Getter: David Pastrnak — 58 points (Brad Marchand is second with 37 points)

Top Goalie: Linus Ullmark — 21-1-1 record, 1.87 goals average against (GAA), .938 save percentage

(All stats as of Jan. 10)

Bruins upcoming schedule for the week of January 12:

• Thursday, January 12 vs. Seattle Kraken
• Saturday, January 14 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Monday, January 16 vs. Philadelphia Flyers
• Wednesday, January 18 @ New York Islanders

Bruins DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games

Injury Update: Jake DeBrusk was placed on long-term injured reserve and will miss a minimum of 10 games after sustaining hand and lower-body injuries in the Winter Classic matchup versus the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 2.

Thursday, January 12 vs. Seattle Kraken

• The Seattle Kraken have a 23-12-4 record and are third place in the Pacific Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference with 50 points and a +21 goal differential.
• The Kraken average 3.7 goals for and 3.1 goals against per game while the Bruins are tied for first in goals for per game (3.9) so this could be one of those high-scoring affairs in which both sides account for points, depending on goaltending situations.
• These two teams have not met this season but met twice last February where the Bruins won both games, 3-2. Over the last ten games, the Kraken are 7-2-1, however, so the Bruins will need to keep the hot streak going.
• The Kraken have received viable goaltending all season from Martin Jones, who allows 2.78 goals against and a save percentage of .894. If they’re going to compete with the Bruins Thursday night, they’ll likely give Jones the start over Philip Grubauer, who has a 3-7 record and an alarming 3.53 goals against.
• Boston has the third-best power play percentage (28.2%) while Seattle has the second-worst penalty-kill percentage (69.4%). The Bruins scored a power play goal in all three games last week so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them take advantage.

Saturday, January 14 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

• The Toronto Maple Leafs have a 25-9-7 record and are second place in the Atlantic Division and tied for second overall in the Eastern Conference with 57 points and a +33 goal differential.
• These two teams faced off just once this season and the Maple Leafs won 2-1, led by two goals from Auston Matthews, who has 20 goals and 27 assists so far on the season. The Bruins have lost their previous four matchups versus the Maple Leafs and allowed at least five goals in three of them.
• The Maple Leafs average 3.4 goals for and just 2.6 goals against per game, which is very similar to the Bruins so this could be one the most evenly matched games of the season so far. Toronto also has the third-highest goal differential in the league.
• Toronto has four forwards with at least 40 points and double-digit goals this season, led by Mitchell Marner who has 15 goals and 34 assists on the year. Marner ranks sixth in the league in assists (34).

Monday, January 16 vs. Philadelphia Flyers

• The Philadelphia Flyers have a 16-18-7 record and are second-last in the Metropolitan Division and tied for third-worst in the Eastern Conference with 39 points and a -19 goal differential.
• The Flyers are another struggling squad that can’t string together enough consistency averaging just 2.8 goals per game but have won four of their last six games and scored at least four goals in every win. If they bring the same intensity into Boston, this could be a well-contested game.
• Boston had faced Philadelphia just once this season in November, where they won 4-1 led by two goals from David Krejci. Boston has won five of the last eight matchups versus Philadelphia.
• Travis Konecny has had a stellar season with 21 goals and 22 assists and is the only Flyer to have at least 40 points. A new development is brewing in Philadelphia, as the young Swedish goaltender Samuel Ersson has impressed lately, posting a 4-0 record with a .924 save percentage. He just recently shut out the red-hot Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 9.

Wednesday, January 18 @ New York Islanders

• The New York Islanders have a 22-17-2 record and are third-last in the Metropolitan Division and tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with 46 points and a +15 goal differential.
• These two teams met on Dec. 13 when the Bruins won 4-3, led by two goals from Jake DeBrusk and the game-winning shootout goal from Pastrnak. Boston has won the last two meetings before dropping five straight to New York.
• The Islanders have two solid goaltending options in Ilya Sorkin and Semyon Varlamov, who both allow less than 2.7 goals per game. Sorkin posts a 14-13 record but has only allowed 2.35 goals per game, good for 8th in the league. Varlamov posts an 8-4 record so the Bruins could be in for a long night regardless of who’s between the pipes.
• Mathew Barzal is a top playmaker and has 30 assists and 41 points so far this season. As of late, he’s been finding the back of the net himself having scored a goal in three straight games. He also leads the team in power play points so there are ways he can capitalize on mistakes and the Bruins’ main priority should be to limit him.

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