The Bruins’ 2026-27 schedule doesn’t exactly ease them in, and the roughest stretch may arrive before October is even over.
Boston opens the season without Charlie McAvoy, who will serve a six-game suspension for his slash on Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson at the end of Game 6 of their first-round series back in May. That means the first six games come with plenty of difficulty baked in: home dates against the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Utah Mammoth, and Philadelphia Flyers, plus back-to-back road games against the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild.
McAvoy is set to rejoin the lineup on Boston’s second road trip of the season, and that trip looks like the toughest one on the slate. It begins on the West Coast, where Bruins fans on the East Coast will need a late night for his return.
Boston opens in San Jose at 11 p.m. EST against the fast-rising Sharks.
From there, the Bruins head deeper into a four-game swing:
Oct. 13: at San Jose Sharks, 11 p.m.
Oct. 16: at Anaheim Ducks, 10 pm.
Oct. 17: at Los Angeles Kings, 9 p.m.
Oct. 20: at Dallas Stars, 8 p.m.
It’s a brutal run, even if getting it out of the way early has its upside. San Jose is on the rise and looks capable of pushing toward a Western Conference playoff berth.
Then comes a back-to-back against Anaheim and Los Angeles, with both teams having made the playoffs last spring. Anaheim’s first-round win over the Edmonton Oilers was one of the surprises of the postseason.
The trip ends in Dallas against a strong Stars team.
Boston fans won’t see McAvoy back at TD Garden until the end of October, and if the Bruins want to stay in the mix for the Eastern Conference postseason field, they’ll need to bank points during this road swing. It’s early, yes. Easy, no.
In Other News...
Joonas Korpisalo Just Changed The Bruins Conversation Before His Exit
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Bruins Just Lost Another Providence Standout Without Getting An Answer
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Bruins Offseason Could Get Even More Painful If Atlantic Rivals Strike
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The problem is that the Bruins are not operating in a vacuum. Buffalo and Detroit are both positioned to make meaningful offseason moves of their own, and if either Atlantic Division rival lands the kind of upgrade that changes its ceiling, Bostons path back up the standings only gets tougher. For a team that still needs help down the middle and on the blue line, the margin for error is already thin, and the rest of the division may be about to make it thinner. [Read more 🡒]