The Boston Bruins will have plenty to look forward to when they return to the TD Garden this season.
The Bruins were one of the best teams on home ice last season, finishing with a 29-11-1 record on Causeway. That success collapsed in the playoffs; the Bruins dropped all three home games against the Buffalo Sabres and saw their season end on May 1.
As always, some games carry more meaning than others, even if they all count the same. We looked at five road games to circle on Thursday, but there are plenty to circle at the TD Garden, too. The Bruins will open the season in September, raise a No. 37 banner, and welcome both superstars and rivals throughout their 42-game home slate.
Tuesday, September 29: vs. NY Rangers, 8:00 PM
The countdown is on and has been since we found out about the home opener on July 15. The third game of the entire 1,344-game NHL season is at the TD Garden, with two Original Six teams squaring off on national television.
These two teams made a few moves with each other this summer. Will Borgen landed in Boston, and Joonas Korpisalo is now with the Rangers after a separate, earlier trade. The Rangers also made their big splash by trading for Pavel Dorofeyev, and they brought in Oliver Bjorkstrand as another top-six option.
Last time these two teams met in Boston, the Bruins scored 10 goals for the first time since 1988. The Rangers still took the season series, though, with two wins, including the Black Friday matinee.
Also, September 29 is shaping up to be a big day for Boston and New York. The Red Sox and Yankees are lining up to meet in the MLB wild card series, which opens up on the same day.
Tuesday, December 1: vs. Colorado, 7:30 PM
Patrice Bergeron’s No. 37 will be raised to the TD Garden rafters when the Avalanche come to town. Bergeron grew up watching the Quebec Nordiques, and after they moved, he followed them to Colorado. He will be etched into Bruins history in front of Avalanche GM Joe Sakic, who was one of his favorite players growing up.
Bergeron will become the 14th player in Bruins history to have his number retired, and it will hang right next to Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 and Ray Bourque’s No. 77.
The Avalanche just won the Presidents’ Trophy, finishing last season with a 55-16-11 record before losing in the Western Conference Final. They were on pace to beat the Bruins’ record at the New Year, but cooled off and finished with 121 points. They still have Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, which should keep them in contention as they search for their 10th straight playoff appearance.
The Bruins have won their last five home games against Colorado, with their last loss coming on December 7, 2019.
Wednesday, December 30: vs. Edmonton, 7:30 PM
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are two of the best players currently playing in the NHL, and they only stop in Boston once a year.
The two forwards combined for 235 points last season, with McDavid’s 138 (48-90–138) leading the league in scoring. They both rank inside the top five NHL centers right now, and they have been some of the game’s best at the position for the last decade. Since the 2015-16 season, McDavid’s 1,220 points lead the league, with Draisaitl’s 1,044 right behind.
There has been plenty of attention on the Oilers this summer outside of their two superstars. They hired Mike Babcock, and his return to Boston will be the first since October 22, 2019, when he was the Maple Leafs’ head coach. They also picked up goaltender Frederik Andersen, who backstopped the Hurricanes through the playoffs before Brandon Bussi took over during the Stanley Cup Final.
It’s also the second trip back to Boston for ex-Bruin Trent Frederic, who is in the second year of an eight-year deal with the Oilers. Frederic only notched seven points (4-3–7) in 74 games with the Oilers last season.
Tuesday, January 5: vs. Buffalo, 7:30 PM
The Bruins will have to wait until the New Year to meet the team that took them out of the first round.
It was the Sabres’ first time back in the postseason since the 2011 season, and they picked up their first series win since 2007. They took out the Bruins in six games, but made it difficult for the B’s to play their physical brand of hockey throughout the series.
Charlie McAvoy was suspended at the end of Game 6 for a slash against Buffalo’s Zach Benson, and this will be the first time these two share the ice during the regular season.
The Sabres stormed from the bottom to the top of the division after hiring Jarmo Kekalainen as their GM on December 15. They finished with the league’s best record after the hire, going 36-9-5. They will look different, though; they lost Alex Tuch to Washington, and Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway landed in Chicago.
The Bruins picked up some former Sabres this summer, both on and off the ice. JJ Peterka spent the first four seasons of his pro career in Buffalo, and Connor Clifton was there for two. Kevyn Adams, the senior advisor to Don Sweeney, worked for the Sabres from 2009-25.
Tuesday, March 30: vs. Montreal, 7:00 PM
The Bruins and Canadiens’ rivalry needs no introduction; it’s one of the longest-standing rivalries in the league, with no two teams in the NHL meeting more times than these two teams.
Any of the games (Nov 12, Jan 6, Mar 10) against Montreal qualify for the list, but the last meeting comes with just seven games left in the season. Starting with this game, the Bruins will play seven straight against division rivals, with only two on home ice.
The Canadiens were competing for the Atlantic Division title last season, and they are expected to be back in that race this season. The two points will be hard to come by, but they could be among the most important on the schedule if the Bruins are still in contention.
Kent Hughes did not make any big additions this summer, but locked Ivan Demidov down to a long-term deal. They also have Cole Caufield, who scored six of his 51 goals last season against the Bruins. The Bruins and Canadiens split the season series last year, with the Bruins ultimately finishing 2-1-1. All-time, the Bruins are 369-461-103-12 against the Canadiens in 945 meetings.
(BONUS) Friday, November 27: vs. Toronto, 1:00 PM
The Bruins’ annual Black Friday matinee is back, and it’s the first meeting of the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins only saw the Maple Leafs three times last season, with two of the meetings coming in four days in November. The Bruins took the season series, 2-1, but the Maple Leafs collapsed and finished at the bottom of the Atlantic.
Outside their core of Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the Maple Leafs went through some changes this summer. They started by naming John Chayka general manager and Jim Hiller coach, then Chayka made a few splashes by trading for Darren Raddysh and signing Sergei Bobrovsky. Oh, and they won the draft lottery (sending the Bruins’ pick to 2028) and selected Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick.
This will be the Maple Leafs’ first appearance in the Black Friday game since it started in 1990, and the B’s are 1-4-0 in their last five Black Friday games.
FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON 𝕏 | FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON 𝕏