By: Jack Studley | Follow me on Twitter/X @jackstudley13
The Boston Bruins (19-13-0) are in the Twin Cities tonight to close out their three-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild (18-9-5). The Bruins are entering this game on a four-game win streak and have scored 20 goals in those four games. Minnesota is riding a three-game win streak, including a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Saturday, and they have posted a 10-3-4 record at home this season.
Throughout the road trip, the Bruins’ lineup has been strengthened by the returns of both David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. Pastrnak returned for Tuesday’s game in St. Louis and had three assists. He continued his show into Thursday’s game, picking up two goals and two assists in the Bruins’ 6-3 win. Charlie McAvoy returned on Thursday night; he picked up an assist, a plus-four rating, and played 33 shifts, totaling 24:16 of ice time.
Pavel Zacha was not on the ice for the Bruins’ practice on Saturday. Marco Sturm said that it was “just a maintenance day for him,” and added that he expects Zacha to play tonight. Jonathan Aspirot (upper-body) and Viktor Arvidsson (lower-body) left the game on Thursday night with injuries. “Both most likely will be out,” Sturm said after Saturday’s practice, “We just have to wait until we get back to Boston to see how long.”
Marco Sturm spoke ahead of the game, and he confirmed that Mikey Eyssimont will slot back into the lineup, as will Victor Soderstrom. Eyssimont, who is filling in for the injured Arvidsson, has been scratched for the last two games. He has five goals and seven assists in 30 games this season. Victor Soderstrom will replace the injured Jonathan Aspirot. He picked up an assist in the Bruins’ 5-2 win in St. Louis and has averaged 14:07 of ice time in three games.
This will be the first time that fans will get a look at new Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes. The Florida-born defenseman had two goals and 21 assists in 26 games with the Canucks this season, and was traded to the Wild on Friday night. On offense, the Wild have been led by Millis, Massachusetts native Matt Boldy (17-18–35) and superstar Kirill Kaprizov (18-16–34). On the other end, the high-scoring Bruins offense averages 3.28 goals per game, while the Wild have been successful at keeping the puck out of their net. Minnesota allows an average of 2.63 goals per game. The Wild goalie room has pitched a combined six shutouts, which is the most in the NHL by two.
The Bruins’ goal tonight belongs to Jeremy Swayman, per Marco Sturm. This will be Swayman’s 21st start of the year, and he has won four of his last five games. He has gone 10-3-0 with a 2.24 goals against average and a .927 save percentage since November 1, and his 13 wins have him tied for second in the league. For Minnesota, Filip Gustavsson will be the starter tonight, per The Hockey News’ Dylan Loucks. Gustavsson has posted two of the six Wild shutouts this season, and he has a total of seven over the last two seasons.
Marat Khusnutdinov returns to St. Paul, MN, for the first time since being traded, as the Bruins and Wild are set to drop the puck shortly after 6:00 PM. Locally, the game’s broadcast can be found on NESN, and the radio call can be found on Country 102.5. After tonight, the Bruins return home for a five-game homestand. If you are looking for tickets to see the Bruins live, or if you are shopping for a gift for the upcoming holiday season, please check out our StubHub Ticket-affiliated link HERE for the most competitive concert and sporting event tickets in the North American region.
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