Swayman, Bruins Take Three-Game Streak Into Anaheim Against Ducks

Jeremy Swayman brings a 5-1-0 record and a .930 save percentage into Anaheim as the Boston Bruins try to keep a three-game roll going Friday night. The goalie has been sharp through six appearances, and the Ducks will get their chance to slow a Bruins club that has found scoring from both David Pastrnak and Fraser Minten early in the season.

After the horn

Boston begins the second leg of its four-game trip at Honda Center after beating the San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Tuesday. That victory gave Swayman his 137th NHL win, moving him past Andy Moog into eighth place on the Bruins’ franchise list.

Swayman has posted a 1.99 goals-against average, one shutout and is tied for second across the League in victories. Boston enters at 5-2-0, with Pastrnak leading the way offensively on two goals and six assists in seven games.

Pastrnak is also closing on another club mark. The 30-year-old captain has 422 goals among his 941 career points in 840 NHL games, leaving him one goal shy of moving ahead of Brad Marchand for fourth on Boston’s all-time goals list.

Minten has supplied the latest push. The 22-year-old center scored twice in San Jose and logged 18:41, the most ice time of any Boston forward in that game. He has three goals and two assists over his past two outings, leads the Bruins with four goals and sits second on the team with seven points.

Boston agreed to a seven-year, $50.4 million extension with Minten on Sept. 8, a deal carrying a $7.2 million annual cap hit beginning next season. He produced 17 goals and 35 points in 82 games as a rookie last year, Boston’s best rookie point total since Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk topped 40 points in 2017-18.

Anaheim, 4-2-0, comes home after a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Captain Mikael Granlund assisted in that game to extend his opening-season point streak to six contests, the first Ducks player to begin a season with a point in each of the first six games. The 34-year-old has two goals and six assists, second on Anaheim behind the club’s younger core.

At Ball Arena, the headline matchup is another Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia meeting between Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. The Avalanche center and Penguins captain will face one another for the 21st time in the NHL, and their first clash this season.

MacKinnon has the edge in the career head-to-head ledger: Colorado is 11-6-3 in their previous meetings, while Pittsburgh is 9-10-1. MacKinnon has nine goals and 17 assists against Crosby, compared with nine goals and eight assists for Crosby against MacKinnon.

MacKinnon enters on a productive run against Pittsburgh, with four goals and eight assists during a five-game point streak dating to March 24, 2024. He has five goals and 12 points in seven games this season for the 4-2-1 Avalanche, though Dallas held him off the scoresheet in Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout defeat.

Crosby scored both of Pittsburgh’s goals Tuesday in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, giving him four points in seven games. He has been especially effective against Colorado lately, recording three goals and six assists over seven meetings since Feb. 7, 2023.

The Penguins have other players with a history of making life difficult for the Avalanche. Evgeni Malkin owns 10 goals and 27 points in 25 games against Colorado, including a two-goal, one-assist performance in last season’s most recent meeting on March 16.

Bryan Rust carries a nine-game scoring streak against the Avalanche, totaling five goals and 11 points. He has six goals and 13 points in his past 11 games versus Colorado. Pittsburgh has taken points in four of its last six trips to Ball Arena, going 3-2-1.

Friday’s slate