Losers of six straight, the Boston Bruins (3-6-0) are on a slippery slope early on this season, and it’s not getting any easier as they welcome the Colorado Avalanche (5-0-3) to TD Garden this afternoon. Here’s what you need to know before puck drop.

Projected Bruins Lines:

Geekie – E. Lindholm – Pastrnak

Mittelstadt – Zacha – Arvidsson

Jeannot – Minten – Eyssimont

Viel – Kuraly – Kastelic

Zadorov – McAvoy

H. Lindholm – Jokiharju

Lohrei – Peeke

Swayman

Korpisalo

Last Time Out:

The Bruins have proven more than enough this year that they can fight back in games. They just don’t have the ability to finish.

After clawing back from a two-goal deficit in the third period, the Bruins still ended up losing to the Anaheim Ducks in devastating fashion.

Bruins Drop Sixth Straight In ‘Devastating’ Loss To Ducks

The Opponent:

Still yet to lose in regulation this season, the Colorado Avalanche are perhaps the most dangerous team in all of the NHL.

It’s hard to argue against that when they sport an incredibly deep lineup featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Brock Nelson at the very top.

The Bruins learned that the hard way last week when they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Avs in Denver.

No Air To Bruins’ Offense In Loss To Avalanche

Necas leads the team in scoring with 12 points. MacKinnon isn’t far behind with 11.

Averaging 3.50 goals per game, the Avs are the 13th-ranked offense in the league, yet are 30th on the power play, converting on just 11.8 percent of their chances.

Trent Miner is expected to start in net for Colorado. He stopped all 20 shots he faced in his own appearance so far this year, but wasn’t rewarded with the win as the Avalanche fell in a shootout.

Follow Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now for more Avalanche coverage.

Keys To The Game:

Stay Tight In D-Zone: The defensive identity the Bruins are built upon has gone completely missing recently. They need to find it against the Avalanche, who could easily run up the score and run the Bruins out of their own building if given the room to do so on offense.

Win On Special Teams:  The Bruins can’t keep pace with the Avalanche five-on-five, but may be able to slow them down on special teams. Boston’s penalty kill has been solid so far and kept a potent Colorado power play silent when the two teams met last week. If the Bruins can manage to score a goal of their on the man-advantage, that’d be even more helpful.

Swayman Stands Tall: Even if the Bruins do manage to accomplish the first two keys, it may not end up being enough. Jeremy Swayman to bring his A-game in net if the Bruins are going to have a true shot at winning.

Prediction:

The Avalanche are probably the last opponent the Bruins want to see right now. As desperate as they are for a win, Colorado is a far superior team. Even if the Bruins do tighten up defensively, they don’t have the ability to keep up with the Avs on offense.

Avalanche: 6, Bruins: 3

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Bruins and Avalanche from TD Garden is set for 3 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on NESN and streamed on NESN 360 or ESPN Plus for out-of-market viewers. 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the radio broadcast of the game.

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