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The Bruins upgraded their week from good to great Thursday night at TD Garden, as the Black and Gold sunk the Maple Leafs by a 4-1 final for the second time in four nights.
In the nastiest game to date between these two division rivals (and, of course, it was the regular season series finale because why should we have nice things?), the Bruins struck first with a David Pastrnak snipe with 17 seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 advantage.
And then a Trent Frederic poke-check on Willy Nylander sprung Frederic in alone towards Joseph Woll, where Frederic tucked one under and through Woll for a 2-0 edge.
The Leafs would counter with a Mitch Marner power-play strike, but goals from Morgan Geekie and Brandon Carlo in a 67-second stretch put the B's up by three through two period of play.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 2-0-1 in a three-in-four stretch that featured games against the Maple Leafs, Oilers, and Leafs again. Beyond the results, the Bruins also allowed just one five-on-five goal over that three-game sample, which came all the back on the John Tavares third-period marker in Monday's win in Toronto.
Swayman dishes on potential Ullmark trade
The future of Boston's one-two goaltending punch of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark has never faced the uncertainty that they face on Friday.
Where there's smoke, there's almost certainly fire. And, boy oh boy, is there a ton of smoke regarding Ullmark's future with the Bruins ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline. It's been talked about by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, and now Swayman himself.
Asked about the rumors surrounding Ullmark, the 25-year-old was as honest as it gets, and even seemed to need a moment to compose himself before answering the question.
“I mean, that guy is my brother for life and he’s a huge reason why we’ve had success every year," Swayman said following Thursday's win over the Leafs. "I have no doubt that there’s not gonna be any surprises hopefully. I love that guy to death Whatever happens, happens. It’s a business. I know it just as well, and whatever happens, happens. We’ve dealt with [trade rumors] over the years, but I don’t want to think about that.”
Swayman's thoughts on the matter and confidence that there will not be any big surprises Friday didn't slow down the rumor mill, though, with Kevin Weekes linking the Bruins in a late-night tweet talking about some potentially massive moves in goal.
- Thursday came with the fifth and final 'Eras Night' of the 2023-24 season for the Bruins as they celebrate their centennial season. Thursday's night came with a focus on the 2000-present era of Boston hockey, and featured a pregame celebration of the 2011 Stanley Cup team. Always nice to see those guys. And while not everybody could make it for a number of reasons, one face continues to remain noticeably missing: Nathan Horton.
- Another note on the ceremony: The Maple Leafs decided not to come out to the bench and watch. At the end of the day, it's not their franchise, and it's not their obligation to watch it. But I did find it noteworthy that they were the first (and only) opposing team to not come out to the bench for the ceremony this season. Hell, even the Canadiens did on the night that the Bruins celebrated the 1988 team that broke the famous Montreal jinx.
- B's defenseman Derek Forbort was scratched once again, though the Bruins are saying he's currently dealing with a "minor injury." Even if that's indeed the case right now, it's been tough sledding for Forbort all year, Mason Lohrei is looking mighty comfortable, and $3 million is a big number to scratch for a team with about six dollars in cap space.
- In theory, general manager Don Sweeney and the Bruins could still try to make a move for the Canucks’ Elias Lindholm between now and Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. But the hopes of it being part of some mega-deal that landed Jake Guentzel in Vancouver (as initially rumored) officially died late Thursday night, as Kyle Dubas and the Penguins instead (and officially) moved Guentzel to the Hurricanes. After what felt like a laborious week of Guentzel talks, a trade between Pittsburgh and Carolina took about six hours of work but formally and finally came together just before midnight Thursday, with the Canucks seemingly playing the role of runner-up after what many insiders considered a ‘strong push’ from Vancouver.
Again, the Bruins could circle back to Vancouver and see if there's a trade to be made there. But with no Guentzel, you almost have to feel like the Canucks will simply roll the dice with Lindholm. I'm not sure there's a clear upgrade over him currently available at this point.
Up next: Once the Bruins are done with the trade deadline, they'll play host to the Penguins in a 3 p.m. tilt Saturday at TD Garden.
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