After taking their first loss of the season on Monday afternoon at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins head west for a challenging three-game road trip beginning Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Boston will play three games in just four nights. After the Thursday contest, the Bruins have back-to-back games at altitude starting Saturday night in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche followed by a Sunday night contest against the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City. Then following a long flight home, Boston will host the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
“You can’t rest,” first-year Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s a tough league. Look at the teams coming up. It’s going to be a big challenge. It’s going to be a big test again to see where we’re at.”
Boston began the season with an impressive three-game win streak. They started with victory over the Washington Capitals and followed that up with home wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres before losing 4-3 to the Lightning.
The Bruins fell behind 3-0 in the first 21 minutes against Tampa Bay. They closed to within one goal on Morgan Geekie’s second of the season midway through the second period but couldn’t get the equalizer down the stretch.
“(The Lightning) came out to play,” Sturm said. “They had lost two in a row, and we knew they wanted to get to work right away, and we just weren’t ready, and that’s why we made mistakes.”
Despite the crammed schedule, Bruins players are looking at the road trip as a chance to bond with their teammates.
“Obviously, a lot of new guys and faces this year,” Boston center Casey Mittelstadt said. “It’ll be fun to get on the road. Obviously, not a much better place to bond than Las Vegas. Obviously, very important games at the same time. We’re looking forward to it.”
The Golden Knights return home from a three-game road trip that started an overtime win over the San Jose Sharks and then an overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken. Vegas registered its first regulation victory of the season on Tuesday, a 4-2 decision at Calgary.
Vegas trailed the Flames 2-0 after one period but bounced back for the win behind a pair of goals by Jack Eichel. The 28-year-old center extended his points streak to four games (four goals, five assists).
“He’s an elite player in the league,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said of Eichel. “That’s what they do. It’s tough to do that every night in this league. I think it’s his mindset as much as anything. He was upset with his first period. (His) line, puck management was an issue, but they got going. They knew that they could be better, and he’s the driver of that line, and they were.”
Eichel, a native of Chelmsford, Mass., has posted 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 20 career games against the Bruins.
Vegas starting goaltender Adin Hill left after the first period on Tuesday due to a lower-body injury, and backup Akira Schmid stopped all 19 shots that he faced the rest of the way. Hill is day-to-day.
“That’s a tough position for (Schmid) to come in,” Cassidy said. “You’re down 2-0, and he held us in there until we got out footing under us. He’s played well every time he’s been in there for us.”
