The Boston Bruins, winners of four straight and seven of their last nine games since Joe Sacco became interim head coach, are heading out on their longest road trip of the season.
Their five-game road trip starts on Tuesday with a tough matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, who are currently tied for first place in the Western Conference and are the only team in the NHL with 20 wins.
“We’ll get out there and enjoy each other’s company on the road,” said Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy. “Sometimes these trips are a good opportunity for us to have some experiences together.”
The Bruins have been on a strong run since their 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 1, but traveling presents a new challenge after winning three of their last four games at home.
“I think it tells a lot about your team when you get on the road, about the identity of the group and how you respond in different environments,” said Sacco. “We’re going to face, obviously, one of the better teams in the league in our next game. I think it’s important that we remain true to our identity, and that’s what has given us success lately.”
In their last game on Saturday, the Bruins overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3, with David Pastrnak assisting Pavel Zacha for the overtime-winning goal for the second time in three games.
Pastrnak missed practice on Monday due to an upper-body injury, but the team expects it to be minor and is hopeful that he will be able to play on Tuesday. The team also is not carrying any extra players.
The team’s recent success has boosted confidence in the locker room.
“I think we’re believing that we can win those (close) games, even if you don’t have great starts,” said Zacha. “That’s something that we’re going to build on as a part of Bruins hockey: being the hard team to play against and winning these games.”
The Jets, who started the season 17-3-0, have cooled off with a 3-6-0 record in their last nine games. They had a two-game win streak snapped with a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Kyle Connor scored his 15th goal of the season to give Winnipeg the lead in the second period, but the Blue Jackets answered with two goals in a span of 2:27 in the third period to secure the win.
“We’re tied going into the third kind of like we’ve been the last few games, when we found ways to win hockey games,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “This one, we made mistakes and it ended up in the back of our net.”
Connor, who has scored twice in his last three games after a six-game scoreless streak, leads a deep Jets lineup that includes four other players with double-digit goals: Gabriel Vilardi (11), Nino Niederreiter (10), and Mark Scheifele (14).
“Obviously, it’s great to contribute and get some goals, but in the end, nothing is more fun than winning hockey games,” said Niederreiter after the Jets’ 4-2 victory in Chicago.
Tuesday’s game will be the second of a four-game homestand for the Jets, who recently completed a stretch of three games in four days against Columbus.
“We’ve talked about it as a group, we’re not looking for excuses based on the schedule,” said Arniel. “This is hockey.”
