Bruins defense takes notable injury hit ahead of Flames game
The Boston Bruins will be without right-shot defenseman Andrew Peeke for the foreseeable future.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed after Thursday’s morning skate that Peeke is considered “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury suffered Tuesday night in Toronto. Montgomery added that the B’s did not make a call-up from Providence to replace Peeke in the lineup for Thursday night against the Calgary Flames at TD Garden.
For now, the Bruins are going with two left-shot defensemen on their third pairing. Parker Wotherspoon, who has subbed in for Mason Lohrei over the past three games, will slide over to the right side. Lohrei will go back into the lineup and take the third left defensive spot.
MORE: Bruins finally add veteran Tyler Johnson to roster
If the Bruins decide after Thursday’s game that they want to incorporate another right-shot defenseman into the lineup in Peeke’s place, the logical choice for the next man up is Ian Mitchell, who played 13 games in Boston in the 2023-24 season. The Providence Bruins also have Drew Bavaro, Ryan Mast, and Billy Sweezy, all of whom spent time with Boston in training camp.
Peeke has logged two assists in 13 games so far this season, while averaging 16:12 of ice time. He has an on-ice shot attempt rate of 45.3% at five-on-five.
Here’s the full projected forward lines and defensive pairs for Thursday night, via Jim McBride of the Boston Globe:
Tyler Johnson – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Elias Lindholm – Justin Brazeau
Cole Koepke – Charlie Coyle – Matthew Poitras
Johnny Beecher – Mark Kastelic – Trent Frederic
Nikita Zadorov – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei – Parker Wotherspoon
According to multiple reports, Joonas Korpisalo was first off the ice at morning skate, indicating that he will start Thursday night against the Flames. That sets the stage for a potential Jeremy Swayman vs. Linus Ullmark matchup for Saturday night, when the Bruins take on the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.
Puck drop is set for around 7 p.m. ET on Thursday night. You can get full coverage on 98.5 The Sports Hub, starting with pregame at 6:30 and the call of the game with Ryan Johnston and Bob Beers.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
3 Stars: Bruins close out weekend back-to-back with identity kind of win
Third Star: Jeremy Swayman
Nov 3, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save on a shot made by Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde (37) during the second period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman had a pretty relaxing start to this night, all things considered.
Spotted a 2-0 lead early, and with the Bruins outshooting the Kraken by a 14-0 edge in the opening 15 minutes of the game, it was a whole lot of spectating out of the gate for Boston’s franchise goaltender. In fact, Swayman had to face just three shots through the opening 20 minutes of action, and had to make another seven saves in the middle stanza, giving him a solid 10-for-10 line. Light work. Dude could probably play some iPhone games in the blue.
But when the Kraken turned the heat up in the third period with 13 shots (and absolute chaos in front of the Boston net early and often), the 25-year-old Swayman remained strong and refused to break, and turned his first shutout win of the season by way of a 23-for-23 effort.
Having this kind of bounce-back performance after getting an early hook in Carolina — even if it was more about the team in front of him than Swayman himself — was absolutely key for both Swayman and the Bruins given the outside noise that’s surrounded both his game and the B’s team game through the first month of the campaign.
Second Star: Charlie Coyle
Nov 3, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) reacts after scoring a goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
When it came to the struggles of Boston’s middle-six forward grouping, almost nobody was blameless. It was a largely punchless, ineffective start for that group. So much so that the Bruins actually, in theory, dropped Charlie Coyle out of it and into a fourth-line role Thursday vs. Carolina. Now, Coyle was not deployed as a fourth-line player in that game, but it did feel like a message sent to the 6-foot-3 two-way threat all the same.
On Sunday night, Coyle definitely answered, with an absolutely disgusting power-play goal to put the Bruins up by two and a strong all-around game that left his coach pleased with his performance.
I just think the last two nights, Coyle’s been moving his feet and when he moves his feet, he creates turnovers, he takes pucks to the net,” Montgomery said following the win. “Like that play in a penalty kill where he ended up on a partial breakaway. He went through two people, and it was like he had a silverback gorilla on his back, and he just kept going. That’s the effort and the kind of persistence that we want in our group.”
First Star: Charlie McAvoy
Nov 3, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde (37) takes a shot in front of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) during the second period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Like many of his teammates, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had some soul searching to do after the club’s most recent slide.
And for Boston’s top defenseman, it came back to a simple message: The crest on your chest is more important than anything else. Not producing offensively? Doesn’t matter. It’s about the team and doing whatever you can to help the team win that game. And for McAvoy, a focus on the latter often leads to individual results, as it did on Sunday night, with McAvoy absolutely turning in his best performance of the season in the victory.
After the game, Montgomery noted that it was the best that McAvoy’s looked all season. And it was definitely the best and most comfortable he’s looked offensively this year, with seven shots on goal and the quick-thinking that led to countless chances and opportunities for his club. For McAvoy, simply getting the puck towards the net has often best his best play, for both himself and his team.
In addition to the offensive contributions, McAvoy also had a late-game block that helped preserve Swayman’s shutout, and finished Sunday’s win with three blocks by the night’s end.
