The Bruins keep stacking wins, and now they get the kind of matchup that always brings a little extra edge. Boston will host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday riding a four-game winning streak, fresh off Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers.
That victory pushed the Bruins to 13-4-1 through 18 games, and it came in the kind of complete effort that has fueled their early surge. They got the scoring they needed, but the night really belonged to Jeremy Swayman, who turned aside 40 shots and kept Florida from ever fully grabbing control.
Swayman was under fire right away. He made 17 saves in the opening period alone, giving Boston room to settle in and build a lead instead of spending the night trying to dig out of one. Against a team that kept creating looks, that kind of start made all the difference.
Boston gave him plenty of support in front of him. The Bruins scored three times in the first period, with Elias Lindholm opening the night, Mikey Eyssimont following, and Morgan Geekie adding a power-play goal before the break. JJ Peterka later added another goal for Boston, while David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha each picked up two assists.
Geekie’s goal also stretched his scoring streak to four games, another sign that Boston is getting production from across the lineup. That kind of spread-out offense makes the Bruins tougher to game-plan against and gives them more ways to keep rolling when the lineup shifts.
Now comes Montreal, and with it the usual Bruins-Canadiens intensity. Games between these two have a way of testing discipline, defensive structure and special teams, and Boston will need to keep the same shape it showed against Florida.
The Bruins have every reason to feel good about their start, but Thursday is another chance to prove this stretch is built to last.
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