The Boston Bruins are looking for more consistency as they begin a three-game stretch against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, just before the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break.
The Bruins have had a mix of good and bad results recently, including a 5-1-1 stretch and back-to-back losses by a combined 13-4 score. They hope to build on their 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.
“That’s the question for our guys, right? Can we build off what we did last game and continue to move in the right direction?” said Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco. “Our power play was better, I thought our game management was good for the most part. … I think we can take and build on (those details).”
There were a lot of positive signs in the win, such as David Pastrnak scoring a hat trick, and Charlie McAvoy returning from injury to score. The Bruins’ power play went 2-for-3, marking only their third game this season with multiple power-play goals.
“Any time you can get your offensive guys feeling good about themselves (is important),” Sacco said. “The power play is where they get their touches and it can also boost their 5-on-5 game.”
Pastrnak’s hat trick came just hours after being named the NHL’s First Star of January, after leading the league with 11 goals and 24 points. He’s on a 10-game point streak for the eighth time in his career.
“The sky’s the limit when I’m on my game and I’m focused,” Pastrnak said. “So yeah, definitely never satisfied but I set my standards high, which sometimes can be tough, but that’s just the player I became and that’s the pressure you have to face and I’m fine with that.”
Sacco mentioned that forward Mark Kastelic (undisclosed injury) should be available on Tuesday, while defenseman Hampus Lindholm (lower-body injury) is unlikely to return before the break.
Minnesota, currently third in the Central Division, has struggled recently with a 4-6-0 record in their last 10 games, including a 6-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
In that game, forward Ryan Hartman was ejected for a head-first hit on Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle. Hartman could face a suspension after being offered an in-person hearing by the Department of Player Safety.
“I think that situation is what it is,” said Minnesota coach John Hynes. “I don’t want to get into any … The game was the game. … That’s not the crux of what happened in the game.”
Despite the penalty, Minnesota’s loss was mainly due to their own struggles. “Even without that (incident), we’re not even close,” forward Mats Zuccarello said. “I haven’t seen us like this in a while, so this is not good enough, and hopefully (Saturday) was a one-off.”
The Wild may make changes to their lineup on Tuesday, with defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower-body injury) and forward Marcus Johansson (concussion) returning to practice after missing 12 and nine games, respectively. Hynes expects both players to return soon.
Leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov was placed on long-term injured reserve on Sunday after undergoing successful surgery for a lower-body injury.
