The Boston Bruins are back from a road trip that they will not soon forget.
With seven of a possible eight points in the bank over the last 10 days, Boston looks to maintain its momentum against the visiting Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
The Bruins came up just short of a perfect trip, dropping a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday after sweeping a three-game run through California.
“It’s hard to win in this league,” Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman said. “We were all laughing — it’s been the best trip ever just because of the camaraderie, the way we’ve competed and been able to stick together every single day.”
Aside from Boston’s power play being scoreless for the eighth time in 10 games (all six goals have come in the other two), coach Marco Sturm saw plenty to build upon moving forward.
“(We were) right there. It’s nice to see that every game was pretty consistent. For a coach, that’s what you’re looking for,” he said. “Doesn’t matter — goalie, D, forwards — every line did their job. We were very consistent, very structured, didn’t give up much and got rewarded with some big points.”
Sturm also felt that facing a road challenge against a perennial contender would benefit his young players. Matthew Poitras and James Hagens scored against Dallas, while defenseman Frederic Brunet assisted Poitras with a perfect cross-ice pass.
The 19-year-old Hagens, the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft out of Boston College, has three goals this season and four points in his last five games.
Poitras, meanwhile, matched David Pastrnak and Fraser Minten with a team-high four goals and is now riding a four-game point streak.
“You could see it when you play a team like Dallas (with) a lot of veterans, and it’s a little bit more playoff atmosphere,” Sturm said. “You could tell they made a little bit more mistakes than some other games, but it’s healthy, though.
“It’s going to help them moving forward,” he added.
One loss in overtime and two in shootouts through eight games have forced the Predators to settle for a 3-2-3 start. However, a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday had them riding high heading into a brief hiatus before playing three games in four nights starting Thursday.
“You want to build your game and you want to win consistently, but at the same time, a win is a win, and they’re always fun,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said. “We enjoyed it Saturday, but we’re also realistic that we can get to another level.”
The Predators also will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday before returning south for another five-game homestand.
That time and an injury to forward Mavrik Bourque (upper body) allowed coach Andrew Brunette to experiment with different line combinations. Alexander Kerfoot, who has spent much of the season on the top-line wing alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos, shifted to center on the second line with Ross Colton and Jonathan Marchessault.
“(Kerfoot is) a stabilizing player for us in all kinds of different roles,” Brunette said. “It seems like every line I put him on, that line’s better. I think just through the middle of the ice, he gives us a little bit more reliability or stabilizing factor.”
In Saturday’s win over the Blues, five different Predators scored goals, including Marchessault on a penalty shot and Adam Edstrom short-handed. Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, while defenseman Adam Wilsby dished out three assists for his first career three-point game.
Juuse Saros (24 saves) has allowed only two goals or fewer in four of his seven starts, seeing 30 or more shots in five of them.
“You talk about systems and all that, but he’s probably the biggest reason why we’ve been staying in some of these games,” defenseman Brady Skjei said of the Finnish backstop.