BOSTON –– It is another back-to-back stretch for the Boston Bruins.
The B’s will play their first game of the weekend on Saturday at TD Garden as they host the Minnesota Wild before heading to Columbus for a Sunday meeting with the Blue Jackets. The 5 p.m. puck drop will mark the second and final time Boston and Minnesota face off this regular season; the Bruins fell 6-2 to the Wild on Dec. 14 at Grand Casino Arena.
“We’re not afraid. We know they’re heavy, very simple, good-structured team. So we just got to make sure we buckle up today and play our game. I think those are the kinds of games we fit in well just because of the heaviness and the style. Hoping for a good one tonight,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I believe to just focus today – to win this hockey game today. The rest we can worry about tomorrow.”
Boston is coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday at KeyBank Center, which has the team in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 88 points. There are no lineup changes for the Bruins on Saturday, Sturm said.
Wait, There’s More
- Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making 31 saves. Swayman has a 2.72 goals against average and a .908 save percentage through 48 games.
- Marat Khusnutdinov was a second-round pick for the Wild in 2020 and spent two seasons with the organization before getting traded to Boston in March 2025. The 23-year-old forward has been on the first line with Fraser Minten and David Pastrnak, who is on an 11-game point streak. Khusnutdinov has 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) through 67 games. Sturm on Khusnutdinov: “I can throw him anywhere, I trust him, he does it well…He’s done an amazing job and I just think he’s getting better and better.”
- Pavel Zacha has seven points in the last five games, including four goals and three assists. The second-line center scored the OT game-winning goal on Wednesday in Buffalo. Zacha has a career-high 24 goals through 69 games this season. He is six points away from surpassing his career-high point total, which is 59 in the 2023-24 campaign. Zacha remains with linemates Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson.
Opposing View
- The Wild most recently beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena. Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek scored in the win, and netminder Jesper Wallstedt made 18 saves. Minnesota has won three of its last five games entering Saturday’s matchup in Boston and sits third in the Central Division with 94 points.
- Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 80 points (38 goals, 42 assists) through 71 games. The 28-year-old forward has been skating on the first line with Mats Zuccarello and Hartman, as well as the first power-play unit. Kaprizov’s 16 goals on the man advantage are also a team-high.
- Nick Foligno, who spent two seasons with the Bruins (2021-23), was dealt to Minnesota on the March 6 NHL trade deadline to play with his brother, Marcus. The 38-year-old forward has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) this season and is projected to center the fourth line between Marcus and Yakov Trenin.
