After spending the last nine days on the road, the Boston Bruins return home to the TD Garden on Thursday night to continue their tough month of October to kick off the 2024-2025 season. Boston returns home after a disappointing 1-1-1 road trip that started well with a win against the Colorado Avalanche before losing in overtime to the Utah Hockey Club and the winless Nashville Predators.

Things don’t get any easier for the Black and Gold as the next two games are the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s safe to say this is as close as it gets to a must-win in both the regular season and overtime since it’s early in the season for the Bruins.

Last Games

Both teams suffered losses during Frozen Frenzy in the NHL on Tuesday night. The Bruins lost in very disappointing fashion 4-0 to the Predators for their first win of the season. Just when you thought Boston was reaching a new low in an overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club, things were even worse against Nashville.

Dallas started the season well, but lost 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabers and will be coming off a disappointing loss of its own. They went to the Western Conference Finals last spring and lost to the Edmonton Oilers and are primed for another deep run this season.

Boston Bruins vs. Dallas Stars: History

This is the first of two meetings between the two teams, with the rematch taking place on November 14 in Texas. Over the past few seasons, the Bruins have had some success against the Stars and will need something early this season to avoid falling below .500.

Boston Bruins vs. Dallas Stars: Players to watch

It will be interesting to see how the Bruins react to what happened over the last two games after scoring just one goal against Utah and being shut out by the Predators. They need more than their winnings to step up and produce against the Stars or it will be a long night at home.

For Dallas, Jake Oettinger is 4-1-0 in goal this season with a 1.81 GAA and a .941 SV% and will likely get the start. Not what the Black and Gold want to see. Matt Duchene leads them in goals with three and Roope Hintz has a team-high five points. The Stars currently have the NHL’s highest-ranked penalty kill.