The Boston Bruins have one more hurdle to clear to win their sixth straight game and finish a perfect road trip after sweeping California over the past week. The Bruins, who are exceeding expectations early for the second straight year, sit first in a crowded Atlantic Division, but four teams are within four points. Every game is crucial, and it won't come easy against a Dallas Stars team that started slow but is also riding a two-game win streak.
The Stars gained confidence after splitting a home-and-home series with their rival Colorado Avalanche, then went on the road to shut out the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0. They’ll now face Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins, setting up an elite goaltending matchup between two Team USA goalies, Swayman and Jake Oettinger, who are among the Vezina favorites through the first few weeks of the season.
The Bruins have been playing with fire with some of their advanced analytics recently, taking on a bit of water in the defensive zone but still managing to break through late and win games. A perfect road trip isn't easy in this league, and the Stars are the kind of team you don’t want to see in the last game before heading home. If the Bruins win, we can safely say they might be the real deal, but this feels like a scheduled loss.
Bruins vs Stars prediction: Stars ML (-180) available at time of publishing. Playable to that price.
