The Boston Bruins' schedule after the NHL All-Star break is jam-packed with few off days.
They will end the 2021-22 regular season by playing 36 games over the next 74 days.
One of the toughest parts of Boston's remaining schedule begins Tuesday night in New York. Nine of the team's next 10 games are on the road, including a six-game trip to conclude the stretch.
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Here's an in-depth look at the Bruins' upcoming slate of nine games out of 10 on the road.
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The Bruins will go on their longest road trip -- six games -- of the season beginning Feb. 24 and lasting through March 5. The previous longest road trip of the season for the Bruins was four games.
Boston Bruins
This stretch is highlighted by travels up and down the West Coast, including Boston's first ever road game against the Seattle Kraken. The Bruins also will go through California to play the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.
The road trip stops in Columbus with a matchup versus the Blue Jackets, who are one of the few teams in the East that's outside a playoff spot with a (very) slight chance to jump into the mix. Columbus is 10 points behind Boston with the same amount of games played at 46.
Dec. 29, 2020
This is the date of Jack Eichel's last game against his hometown Bruins. He tallied an assist in a 3-2 Bruins win over the Buffalo Sabres.
A lot has changed for Eichel since this date. For starters, he's no longer on the Sabres. Buffalo traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights last November. He underwent disk replacement surgery to address a neck injury that's kept him out of action since March 7, 2020. The procedure was successful, and the Golden Knights announced earlier this week that Eichel will make his long-awaited Vegas debut Wednesday night.
Assuming Eichel's return goes smoothly, he should be in the lineup when the Bruins play the Golden Knights in Vegas on March 3 as part of the aforementioned six-game road trip. Eichel has tallied 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 16 career games against the Bruins.
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Bruins left winger Brad Marchand has four games left on his six-game suspension handed down by the NHL for his incident with Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry last week. This means Marchand will miss games at the New York Rangers, at the New York Islanders, at the Ottawa Senators and versus the Colorado Avalanche. Marchand's absence likely will be felt the most against the Avalanche, who rank second in the league at 4.07 goals scored per game. He scored in Boston's 4-3 overtime loss to Colorado last month.
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It should be noted that Marchand is appealing his suspension this week, but those appeals are rarely successful.
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The Bruins, based on the current standings, will play five teams (Golden Knights, Ducks, Kings, Avalanche and Rangers) in a playoff spot during this upcoming stretch of nine games out of 10 on the road. The Avalanche are the only one of these opponents the Bruins will play at home.
Boston has a disappointing 7-11-2 record versus teams currently in a playoff spot.
The Bruins' lack of success versus quality opponents is one of the most concerning aspects of this team as the playoffs approach.
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The Bruins have eight losses (six in regulation, two in OT/shootout) on the road, which is tied for the fewest of any team in the Eastern Conference. That's a little skewed because they've only played 20 games on the road so far, but Boston has been a pretty good road team this season with a 12-6-2 record overall.