Need to Know: Bruins vs. Sharks

BOSTON –– The Boston Bruins will look to continue their winning ways when they host the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden on Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop.

“Consistency, I would say, that’s the one thing we’ve been working on all year long. A few days ago we touched on coming back from the road, having a good mindset coming in. Yesterday was a day off, so I think our mindset shouldn’t change at all,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “That’s why I say consistency. We have a good thing going on right now, so we just want to continue to do that.”

​The B’s have won six of their last seven games, most recently beating the Nashville Predators 6-0 on Thursday. Casey Mittelstadt scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the first period; it was his third tally of the season.

​“He always had good hands and the brain, but I think he worked on it over the summer on the skating part,” Sturm said of Mittelstadt. “He worked really hard in the summer, and you can see it already. I think he’s quicker, he’s faster and he’s been rock solid.”

The 27-year-old forward is skating on the third line with James Hagens and Elias Lindholm. The trio has found strong chemistry since Sturm turned to the line combination in early October. Mittelstadt’s pace of play has been an area of growth.

“I obviously watch my game pretty closely, and that’s something last year that I saw and I didn’t really like. You’ve got to work on it and get better,” he said. “Put some time in and try to improve. It feels good to feel a little bit quicker, for sure.”

​Matt Poitras, who centers the fourth line between Mark Kastelic and Tanner Jeannot, enters Saturday’s contest on a five-game point streak; the 22-year-old forward has three goals and two assists through that stretch. Poitras, like Mittelstadt, has provided depth scoring for the squad.

“Potsy has been great. Some young energy and he’s flying around,” Mittelstadt said. “I feel like playing with those guys, too, they make the game very simple and it allows guys that haven’t played a lot to come in and have success. You’ve got to be a good player, and Potsy is a good player. He’s been a great add for us.”

Wait, There’s More

• Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars and made 22 saves. Swayman has a 1.98 goals-against average and .928 save percentage through eight games. Michael DiPietro, who posted his first NHL shutout on Thursday, will be the backup.

• David Pastrnak had four points (two goals, two assists) in Thursday’s win over the Nashville Predators. The captain now leads the team with six goals and 10 assists in 11 games; three of his goals have come on the power play. Pastrnak remains on the first line with Pavel Zacha and JJ Peterka.

• Charlie McAvoy also had four points, all assists, against the Predators. The 28-year-old defenseman has six points through his first five games of the season. McAvoy is leading the Bruins with an average 24:43 of ice time per night while skating on the first pair with Hampus Lindholm.  

Opposing View

• The Sharks are coming off a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre. Nolan Allan, Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf, Jacob Trouba, Zack Ostapchuk and Ivar Stenberg scored for San Jose and netminder Yaroslav Askarov made 41 saves. The Sharks have won three of their last five games. They’re closing out a six-game road trip in Boston.

• Macklin Celebrini leads San Jose with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in nine games. The 20-year-old captain has three points in the last three matchups. Celebrini centers the Sharks’ first line and is also on the first power-play unit; two of his goals have been on the man advantage. Celebrini played one year of NCAA hockey at Boston University (2023-24) before turning pro.

• Jacob Trouba leads all Sharks defensemen with six points (two goals, four assists) in 11 games. The 32-year-old blueliner signed a four-year deal with San Jose in July. Trouba is projected to be on the second pair with Sam Dickinson. He averages the second-most ice time on the team with 22:00 a night.