Black Friday game note: Grzelcyk returns and it's a 6 p.m. puck drop instead of the traditional matinee.
The 2024-25 Bruins schedule is out. Some notable dates 🧵:
Oct. 8 season opener in Florida
Oct. 10 home opener vs. Montreal
Oct. 19 first stop in Utah
Oct. 26 first matchup vs. Toronto
Nov. 9 vs. Ottawa - Ullmark's return
Feb. 8 vs. Vegas
Feb. 9-21 Idle (Four Nations Tournament)
Feb. 22 vs. Anaheim (First game back from Four Nations)
March 20-29 - Vegas and California trip with a final stop in Detroit
April 15 vs. New Jersey - regular season finale
Unless we've forgotten a date, we've only spotted three games vs. the Habs this year: home opener, Centennial Game and April 3 - lone appearance in Montreal.
This scheduling format downright stinks.
👀
The Bruins addressed their center and defensive needs, but lost depth at wing as one big item remains.
@_TimRosenthal shares his takeaways from the first day of free agency.
@BostonDotCom @BDCSports @BDCBruins
Free agency takeaways: Bruins make splash with Lindholm and Zadorov
Don Sweeney addressed Boston's center and defensive needs after adding Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov from Vancouver as their marquee signees.
www.boston.com
Behind their steady defense and goaltending, the Bruins embarked on another strong start to the season. But Boston’s offense took center stage in Thursday’s win over the New York Islanders.
Trent Frederic kicked off the scoring to begin a productive night for Boston’s second line, delivering a slick wrist shot from the slot for his third goal of the season on a feed from James van Riemsdyk.
The JVR-Coyle-Frederic line cashes in.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 10, 2023
Frederic makes it a 1-0 Bruins lead.
James van Riemsdyk with his 600th career point. pic.twitter.com/yydQre4qZR
“JVR made five outstanding first passes,” head coach Jim Montgomery said. “Frederic and Coyle always had chemistry together…played well together, so it was really nice to see.”
The Islanders answered Frederic’s goal with a power play tally from Brock Nelson with 2:37 left in the first period.
The Bruins countered with a power play tally of their own in the second period. Charlie Coyle finished off an excellent triangle passing play with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha. Coyle added two more goals and an assist and also notched the 400th point of his NHL career.
Charlie Coyle cashes in on the power play.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 10, 2023
2-1 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/eMx5sa89ML
With an opportunity to extend their lead by two goals in the third period, the Bruins hit a bump in the road. Brad Marchand coughed up the puck at the blue line, which led to Simon Holmstrom’s shorthanded tally.
But Boston quickly atoned for its mistake. On the same power play, Pastrnak found a chink in the armor of Ilya Sorokin, as his wrister just squeaked over the goal-line for the go-ahead goal.
Boston’s second line of van Riemsdyk-Coyle-Frederic continued its productive night in the third period, adding an insurance tally off the stick of Coyle with 10:36 remaining.
Coyle finished off his first career hat trick by tapping home the empty netter from an unselfish feed by Pastrnak.
Charlie Coyle completes his first career hat trick.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 10, 2023
5-2 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/g5fdrROues
“They’re incredibly unselfish and thoughtful people,” Montgomery said. “And it shows in the way they love playing for each other.”
Here’s what we learned as the Bruins took care of business with a 5-2 victory over the Islanders.
“I was just on the end result of a lot of good passing plays, sometimes it just goes that way.” Charlie Coyle on his first career hattrick. pic.twitter.com/WpExiKICww
— Bruins Daily (@BruinsDaily) November 10, 2023
Six hundred forty-six pounds are evenly distributed on Boston’s second line.
Coyle, van Riemsdyk and Frederic showed promise when they skated together a few weeks ago, and the trio re-asserted their dominance upon their reunion Thursday night. The second line was heavily involved in both of Boston’s even-strength goals.
Might want to keep the JVR-Coyle-Frederic line together.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 10, 2023
Coyle's second goal of the game makes it a 4-2 game. pic.twitter.com/CGCvghp3d0
“It’s been fun playing with [Coyle] and Freddy,” van Riemsdyk said. “I feel like when I’m out there I feel very comfortable knowing where they’re gonna be at. We’re making plays too because I think we’re just reading off each other very well.”
Not only do the three have a major size advantage over most of their opponents, but they all possess heavy-possession skill sets. On Thursday, they overwhelmed the Islanders with their forechecking ability and puck management.
“Sometimes you’re just on the end result of some really good plays by your linemates,” Coyle said.
It wasn’t an entirely clean night for Boston’s man-advantage. But in the end, it was a net positive.
The Bruins tallied two power-play goals, thus extending their streak to a season-high three straight games with a man-advantage marker. With their fluid puck movement, the Bruins showcased cohesion and urgency on the man advantage, especially after Pastrnak quickly countered the Isles’ shorthanded tally early in the third.
“I’ve got to give credit to our leaders who were on the ice: Pasta and Marchy,” Montgomery said of Boston’s third-period power play attempt. “I thought [the shorthanded goal] was a little bit of a bad break…but the response was great. I thought that was one of our best power plays.”
The Islanders converted on a bang-bang 2-on-1 following an unlucky turnover by Marchand at the offensive blue line. Outside of that mistake, the Bruins had one of their strongest power play performances of the season.
Murphy’s law seemed to strike the Bruins, as they led 2-1 during a third-period power play. The Bruins lost momentum after relinquishing the lead on the man advantage.
The Islanders appeared poised to steal two points following Holmstrom’s shorthanded tally. The Bruins, however, pushed back with Pastrnak’s power-play marker and Coyle’s second and third goals.
David Pastrnak's shot just slips just past Sorokin.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 10, 2023
3-2 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/8TjU2wCGbl
“[The Islanders] play well with leads,” Frederic said. “We try to not let that happen. You know every night when you play them it’s gonna be a battle. There’s not really easy pucks out there.”
At that moment, the Bruins took care of business just like they have through their first 13 games. There’s a sense of purposefulness that is driving this team right now and is one of the main reasons they’re off to an 11-1-1 start.
“That can be one of those moments in the game where you don’t want to let it get away from you,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think we had a good response and it was good that we were able to get right back down there and get it back.”
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