Boston Bruins DraftKings NHL Fantasy Hockey Preview: March 9 to March 14

Can the Boston Bruins lose? After a rough five-game stretch at the end of February, the Bruins now find themselves on a league-leading 10-game winning streak. Since the new year, Boston has lost just five games and further improved its record to 49-8-5 after topping both the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers last week. As a squad, they are 13 points ahead of the next closest team with 103 points and have averaged 4.4 goals per game across their last ten wins.

The Bruins started their week against a rising Sabres squad and dominated from start to finish, winning 7-1. Boston jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period and never looked back, registering 42 shots compared to Buffalo’s 27. Newly-acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov (1G, 2A) continues to impress since joining the team while David Pastrnak (1G, 2A) has further proved why he ranks second in the league with 44 goals.

Two days later, the Bruins hosted the Rangers and won 4-2 thanks to Charlie Coyle (1G, 1A), who netted the first goal of the game to get things going. Linus Ullmark continued his Vezina campaign, stopping 24-of-26 shots, good for a .923 save percentage. New York out-shot Boston 26 to 24 but a shorthanded goal and overall better control of the puck led to the victory in the end.

Top Goal Scorer: David Pastrnak — 44 goals (Patrice Bergeron is second with 23 goals)

Top Point Getter: David Pastrnak — 84 points (Brad Marchand is second with 54 points)

Top Goaltender: Linus Ullmark — 32-4-1 record, 1.89 goals against on average (GAA), .938 save percentage

(All stats as of Mar. 7)

Bruins upcoming schedule for the week of March 9:

• Thursday, March 9 vs. Edmonton Oilers
• Saturday, March 11 vs. Detroit Red Wings
• Sunday, March 12 @ Detroit Red Wings
• Tuesday, March 14 @ Chicago Blackhawks

Bruins DraftKings Fantasy Preview for Upcoming Games

Injury Update: Taylor Hall (lower body) was placed on long-term injured reserve after sustaining an injury against the Canucks. Nick Foligno (lower body) was placed on injured reserve after sustaining an injury against the Flames. Both remain without clear timetables to return.

Thursday, March 9 vs. Edmonton Oilers

• The Edmonton Oilers have a 35-22-8 record, are in fourth place in the Pacific Division and are tied for third overall in the Western Conference with 78 points and a +33 goal differential.
• These two teams last met less than two weeks ago when the Bruins walked away with the 3-2 win. Edmonton is 5-3-2 across its last ten games, averaging 4.6 goals for and 3.8 goals against per game.
• The main task will be limiting Connor McDavid (54G, 70A), who has been absolutely on fire recently, totaling 12 goals and 13 assists across his last ten games. He’s scored two goals each in six of those games and is currently 28 points ahead of the next closest player with 124 points on the season. Leon Draisaitl (41G, 55A) isn’t too far behind in terms of production either, so the Bruins will have their hands full if they want to keep the winning streak alive.
• Mainly thanks to McDavid’s excellence, the Oilers excel at taking the puck away, ranking fifth in the league in takeaways with 480. Although there’s consistency on offense, Edmonton struggles to take care of the puck itself, posting the fourth-highest giveaway total in the league (538). Boston has played clean and fundamental hockey recently so if Edmonton continues this trend, there will be plenty of opportunities to capitalize on.
• Despite facing the second-fewest high-danger chances in the league (100), the Oilers’ goaltending has been lackluster. Whether it’s Stuart Skinner (18-13-4 record) or Jack Campbell (17-9-4 record), the Bruins should have very few issues getting the puck on and in the net in this one. Edmonton has allowed 138 goals, the 10th-highest total in the league with both goaltenders allowing over 2.85 goals per game.

Saturday, March 11 vs. Detroit Red Wings

Sunday, March 12 @ Detroit Red Wings

• The Detroit Red Wings have a 28-26-9 record, are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and are thirteenth overall in the Eastern Conference with 65 points and a -20 goal differential.
• These two teams last faced in October, where the Bruins came out with a comfortable 5-1 victory. Despite the dominant win last time out, the Red Wings are 6-4 against the Bruins across their last ten meetings. Boston gets to face Detroit back-to-back in the middle of a six-game losing streak while it’s red hot and on a 10-game winning streak.
• Across their last six losses, the Red Wings have allowed an average of 4.7 goals against while only scoring an average of 1.5 goals per game. There are no true superstars on Detroit that should worry Boston too much but Dylan Larkin (23G, 36A) has impressed with such a limited supporting cast and Ville Husso (23-16-6 record) still posts consistent enough numbers despite the overall team play. Husso is tied for the third-most starts (46) and has faced the 11th-most shots (1,364) but still manages to post a .904 save percentage and 2.93 GAA.
• Detroit’s defensive consistency shows in its power play (20.0%) and penalty kill effectiveness (77.0%) but it hasn’t translated into normal 5-on-5 play. As a squad, the Red Wings post the lowest takeaway total in the league (268) and allow a giveaway in their defensive zone 52.93% of the time. The Bruins’ impressive power play and penalty kill units should have plenty of opportunities.

Tuesday, March 14 @ Chicago Blackhawks

• The Chicago Blackhawks have a 22-36-5 record, are in last place in the Central Division and are last overall in the Western Conference with 49 points and a -67 goal differential.
• These two teams met early in the season in November, with the Bruins winning 6-1 easily. Across the last ten meetings, the Bruins are 8-2 against the Blackhawks. Chicago is streaky, having gone on a five-game winning streak only for it to be followed by a four-game skid so the Bruins will have the upper hand momentum-wise.
• Once the Blackhawks moved on from Patrick Kane, it was clear there were very few playmakers left on the roster. Seth Jones (10G, 21A) leads the team in points with 31 while there are three other Blackhawks tied with 14 goals. Not a single player has cast himself above another on this team, and it’d be a major collapse for the Bruins to falter in this one.
• As a squad, Chicago allows the fifth-most shots per game (33.7) which has translated into an abysmal 3.5 goals against per game. Petr Mrazek (8-18-2 record) has drawn 30 starts this season but allows 3.74 GAA and a .891 save percentage while Alex Stalock (7-7-1 record) has been much more dependable, allowing 2.60 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Regardless of who’s in the net, the Blackhawks surrender the second-most high-danger chances (168) so the scoring opportunities will come all night long for Boston’s playmakers.

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