The Boston Bruins celebrate their 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in Chicago. The Bruins have opened the season with six straight wins. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights have picked up where they left off, the Boston Bruins are figuring out their game after an early playoff exit last spring and the Colorado Avalanche are winning while not yet playing their best hockey.
All three are undefeated to start the NHL season, making some history in the process. It’s the first time the league has had three teams open a season with at least six wins in a row.
Vegas, which already has the best start for a reigning champ with seven consecutive victories, is the closest to tying the record for the longest winning streak to start a season: 10, by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.
The Golden Knights scored twice in the final eight minutes of regulation Tuesday, rallying from down 2-1 to beat Philadelphia.
“We’ve got talent, for one,” Coach Bruce Cassidy said, when asked about the undefeated start. “We have different guys that can help you win. That’s probably the simplest answer. We’ve got a lot of good players that can hurt you offensively.”
So do the Bruins, even after the retirements of top centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. After beating Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks in Chicago to improve to 6-0, Coach Jim Montgomery said he was starting to see the team’s identity build.
“You’re starting to see us become a heavy, grinding team, which I think is what we’re going to have to be,” Montgomery said after the Bruins won their first six games for the second time in franchise history and first since 1937-38.
For the Avalanche, not so fast. Sure, they’ve won their first six after beating the New York Islanders 7-4 Tuesday, but they’re not happy about how they’re playing even though they set an NHL record with their 15th straight road win.
“We are fortunate to be 6-0,” Coach Jared Bednar said. “The guys realize that. We are still trying to improve.”
One area that doesn’t need improving is in net, where Alexandar Georgiev has a league-best six wins with a 1.98 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. Colorado went into the season as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, and Georgiev’s play is a good early indicator of those chances.
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
CAPITA:S 6, DEVILS 4: Connor McMichael scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period and Hunter Shepard made 18 saves in his NHL debut as visiting Washington rallied to beat New Jersey.
McMichael scored his second goal of the season at 2:09 of the third to put Washington ahead 5-4 after Dylan Strome tied the contest at 4 just 18 seconds into the final period on the power play.
Alex Ovechkin added an empty net goal at 18:25, his second of the season and 824th of his NHL career.
Washington scored three times in the first, then the Devils scored four goals in the second before the Capitals scored three more in the third.
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