CONDENSED GAME: Boston Bruins vs. Colorado Avalanche – 10/18/2025

CONDENSED GAME: Boston Bruins vs. Colorado Avalanche – 10/18/2025

Tonight, the Bruins look to end their twoame skid against one of the most dangerous teams in the National Hockey League, the highf flying Colorado Avalanche. Hello again everybody along with Andy Brickley. I’m Jud Serat. Thanks for joining us. We are going to see a lot of changes tonight for the Boston Bruins. Hampus Lynhome is back into the lineup. All four lines for Marco Sturm will have a different look and feel up front. And Brick, one of the things that that Sturm mentioned, he felt like he needed a little bit more balance, but you could sense some moves were coming. Yeah. And when you talk about the forward group, Jud, in particular, we’ll get to the defense in a minute because it hasn’t been good enough, but as far as the forwards are concerned, when you play quality teams like a Colorado, like a Vegas, your top six need to be more impactful in a positive way. We’ll keep an eye on that tonight. Believe it or not, through the first five games of the National Hockey League season, the Boston Bruins have scored more goals than the Colorado Avalanche. However, the Bruins are not built to win games that way. And Marco Sturm said here in the last two brick, we’ve cheated the game. Jeremy Swayman is going to get the start here for the Bruins. He has excellent numbers lifetime against the Colorado Avalanche. 30-1 only seven goals against his counterpart at the other end. Scott Wedgewood has started in every single game for the ABS early in the season. That’s due to an injury to the guy who’s normally the number one, McKenzie Blackwood. He is coming back from an injury. Just finished a rehab stint in the American Hockey League. But Wedgwood has only allowed eight goals here in the first five games. Cari Mackoy shot deflected just wide to the far post. Bruins get it back. Mackaoy plenty of room. Here it comes. Center. They score. Johnny Beecher. He took that slap pass and delivered at home. He’s got three goals in four games against the ABS. And the Bruins strike first. And this is the stuff you love to see by the Bruins defense. Active in the offensive zone. What a nice pass to set this play in motion initially by Mason Lauri at the left point. The Bruins puck retrieval with some speed along the wall. Nice little give and go for the one-time. Now this is puck retrieval right here. Put some pressure on Colorado. That’s nice job. Cari comes over to lent support for Beer. And now Beecher is able to beat his man off the wall. And he’s looking for it. He’s looking for the puck as he goes to the net. Mackoy who just teed one up. He’s going to fake the shot and deliver a perfect shot pass to a wideopen feature. Fourth line on the ice giving you the lead. Sound familiar? And that’s usually forced Josh Manson to play his off side. And he said it’s really hard for him. It’s something that he struggles with. McKinnon into the slot. Back hand. He scores like he was shot out of a cannon. He came down the slot and backhands won by Swayman. And the Bruins and Avalanche are tied at one. You got to know who you’re out there against. And we talked about playing power versus power. Past has an option when he gets this puck on the off wing. You know, go forward. Well, he wants to circle back, try to regroup. Right here, you know, you give up ice and then you try to make a play, you turn the puck over. Now it’s twoonone. We talked about it in the open. Turnovers. They’re so hard to defend, especially against high-end talent. And McKinnon just explodes to the goal. It’s on his forehand enough to freeze Swayman enough. Once he sees that, he’s able to go back and slide it inside that near post. Marco Stum said this morning about Zidorov that he had a tough preeason, but said he’s been rock solid, particularly on the penalty kill, using his reach to help. Vansson from the high side, rifles it through some traffic and the ABS move in front two to one. Judge, you mentioned the four right shots on deep for Colorado and you got Josh Manson playing the offside with Burns on his formal side. But in the offensive zone on faceoffs, that’s an advantage. A clean win D to D one time with traffic. You got a moving screen in front. You got guys trying to block the shot out further and the puck gets by everybody including Swayman. Two-1 Colorado. The trailer. Cari wasn’t expecting the pass. Corali wanted to come towards Zaga and crisscross with him. 10 seconds remaining here in the period as Land. This guy got knotted up with Carali and down he went. 4 seconds remaining. Vouchkin lost the puck. Kicked into the corner. Horn’s going to sound and that’s going to do it for the opening 20 minutes of play. So, it looked promising for the Bruins. They got out to a one- nothing lead, but then they allowed to. Yeah, too many turnovers. It wasn’t an abundance like it wasn’t just constant, but there was still too many. And when Marco Sturm talked about it after the loss to Vegas, Jud, he said, “It’s not just the new guys and the inexperienced guys, it’s the veterans.” And that was the case in the first period as well. Here’s Mac. Last year, he had 12 goals on the power play from the blue line. The nearest defenseman in the league had five. Mcinnon sifts his way through, swerves, and then send it up top. Mar to Olison. That’s his specialty. Olivesson backs it off. Two times 20 goal scorer. Both of them coming with Buffalo up top to Mar. Almost fumbled it. Watched by Castelik. McKinnon spins left of the net. Jam shot out in front. N is denied by Swayman. Can the Bron get command of it? Castillic will rip it down. Taves Mar watched up top by Postronaut. He’ll shake to the far circle. Back of the net out in front. Turn. Shoot. Swayman. Read it. Stopped it. Then he gave a little slug. It looked like to Parker Kelly out in front. A guy who likes to stir the pot. I mean, Macau is just so talented. He’s difficult to handle one-on-one. And the Bruins have to switch out high when he takes the puck from one side of the other. Pass releases. Lynholm picks it up. And now when he uses the back of the net, now there needs to be another switch. It doesn’t happen until a little too late. And Mar is able to get to a forehand. And now he’s got options. He go short side high, far low, wherever he wants to go with that puck cuz nobody nobody’s really in front of him. And Swayman’s got to make a big time save. Swayman now had a discussion with Les McCauley. See some of the action out in front. Makaoy briefly lost his stick. Picks it back up. McKinnon gets by Zaga to the slot. Chopped free and cleared all the way down by Lynholm. Nice cave in by Sean Kari there in the high slot. Good defensive awareness. Wholesale changes on the penalty kill for Marco Stern’s team. Magis works around a moving screen. McKinnon dangles his way in, shoots. This one ramps up and over the glass. Addition to Landisk, turned over. Peach will rip it all the way down. Wedgewood out to play it. He’s had a problem back of the net with Lynhol. 10 seconds left in the kill for the Bruins. McKinnon up top to the slot shoots. Cleveland fought it off just over his left pad. 5 seconds left in the period. Bruins back to full strength. Landiscott got knocked out of the way out in front. The Bruins clear it all the way down. And that’s going to do it for the middle frame. The Bruins brick spent almost the entire period in their own zone, but it’s a one-goal hockey game in their own zone and in the penalty box. Swayman one more real important save at the very end just before the buzzer. McKinnon doing his magic able to shake inside gets that puck in the shooting area gets over by the dot. Swayman’s got to fight that one off but they’ll tell you third period the offensive guys for the Bruins they ought to be well rested. Out comes McKinnon. Twoon two. McKinnon waits. Send it right to the net. McKinnon shoots. He scores. That puck on a TE and Nathan McKinnon rips in his second of the night and it’s 3-1 Avalanche. [Music] Well, this starts in the offensive zone again, Jud. The Bruins can’t manage the puck in the offensive zone. And here come the AS right there. Pos can’t make a play on it. This is going to be an entry every time with McKinnon carrying the puff. [Applause] He draws people to him. Somebody gets open. It’s a simple give and go from below the goal line. Talked about being too spread out in the last two losses against Tampa. I mean, there’s enough white and gold jerseys in that defensive zone to protect, but they don’t pick up people. They don’t get close enough to McKinnon. And it’s a bullet blocker side. [Music] [Applause] Back of the net. Yoki Haru looking for his 100th career NHL point. Going fired up the middle. Feature around a check left to the cage out in front. Backhand. Wedgewood denied. And this puck is sent all the way down. Great effort. Great effort by Johnny Beach. plays that good pass from Castler coming out of the zone and just speeds to the outside, attacks the net. Here’s Anorov. Fires, block, rebound. What a stop by Wedge when he lunged to his left and Beecher. Can’t believe it. He’s denied his second. The ball arena is buzzing after that stop by Wedgewood. Johnny Beach are playing like a guy that wants to stay in the lineup. He’s been very good tonight. Little self pass up the wall right around Winsky. Attacks the net. Tries to go backand forehand. That’s a good stop by Wedgwood. And then a purposeful shot right there by Zidorov. Cruising in from that left point. A rare second chance opportunity for the Bruins and Becher elevates. But again, Wedgewood able to track that puck and make a big time glove stop. Bruins enter now. Asimat centered. Harbertson denied the rebound out in front. Asimo got an offering away. Hanson out of the box. Left circle center deflected. Swaming the stop. He dragged the right leg. Where’s that puck? Swam able to cover up. [Applause] Oh, a key stop by the Bruins tender to keep this game in range. Yeah, the Bruins weren’t able to generate quality scoring chances on their power play. Close range opportunity there for Arbertson. The ABS were able to free that puck up. Perfect timing because Manson was coming out of the box. The girls were left to defend basically a threeonone, threeon two. Lindholm did a pretty good job staying in the middle to deny a tape totape play, but then it got dangerous with that puck ricocheting around in and around Swayman. Now Makavoy with it. Swayman going to the bench for the extra attacker. Just under three minutes left. Arbitson pounds it in. Beecher on the ice for this. Dig it away. Rewarded by Marco Stur for this chance. This puck driven up the middle and down they score. And from long range an empty net goal by Marty Nes and it’s 4-1 Colorado. You know, we haven’t talked a lot about it tonight, Jud, but the the in inability of Austin to connect with their passing. You know, even the easy passes weren’t there tonight. It’s part of the reason you didn’t get much offense in this Hawks game. And this is another play where you have possession of the puck, you try to pass it through somebody instead of making a higher percentage. I know happens quick and there’s people right on top of you, but you turn the puck over and they just from long distance finds the empty net. The Boston Bruins after winning their first three games of the year are going to drop their subsequent next three games. They’re 0 and2 thus far here in the trip and it’ll end tomorrow in Salt Lake City against the Mammoth. Middlestat with 28 ripped in by Laurai. These two teams will see one another a week from today in Boston. And that’ll close out the season series. Avalanche lift the puck back into the Bruins in 8 seconds remaining in this one. Zenorov’s got it. And that’s going to wrap it up. You knew it was going to be a tough trip, particularly in the first two games with the quality of teams in the Vegas Golden Knights and tonight’s opponent, the Colorado Avalanche. Bruins didn’t do a good enough job defensively in the first loss on this trip, the 6-5 game in Vegas. Tonight they try to repair those fixable deficiencies defensively.

Highlights from the Boston Bruins 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on October 18, 2025.