The Boston Bruins are hitting the road after wrapping up a brief homestand at TD Garden, shifting their focus toward a challenging two-game trip that opens in Raleigh against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. Tuesday night’s 8 p.m. ET matchup sets up a high-stakes battle between two of the league’s top powerhouses, with both squads currently holding the two best records in the NHL.
Boston enters the swing with points in eight consecutive contests, riding a seven-game win streak that includes a 6-4 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Bruins sit at 9-2-1, closely matched with Carolina’s 9-2-2 mark.
“Just kind of stick with what we’ve been doing,” Morgan Geekie said. “It’s always exciting to get a few good wins at home to kind of carry that energy onto the road.”
Chasing the Champions in Raleigh
Head coach Marco Sturm emphasized that the meeting with the Hurricanes is less about benchmarking his team’s early success and more about competing against the benchmark of the league.
“Just for me, they are champions, so we’ve got to bring our best…For me, it’s not a measuring stick. It is more like, ‘I want to beat them,’ right?” Sturm said. “Whoever wins the Cup, you try to play your best and show them what you’ve got.”
Following Tuesday’s clash in North Carolina, the Bruins will travel west for a Thursday matchup against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center, also scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Geekie’s Return to Familiar Territory
Tuesday’s opener carries a personal storyline for Geekie, who was originally selected by the Hurricanes in the third round of the 2017 Draft. The 28-year-old forward spent two full seasons developing with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, capturing a Calder Cup title in the 2018–19 campaign. After skating in 38 cumulative games for Carolina’s main roster, he was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the July 2021 expansion draft.
“I think when you first move on, it’s a lot more prominent than it is maybe now. It’s still always that extra fire. They’ve got a great team, great organization. I honestly don’t know a ton of guys still there, but I have nothing but good things to say about Carolina,” Geekie said. “I think going to Seattle, for everybody involved, was maybe a blessing in disguise for a lot of guys. It was one of those things that I don’t think I’d be where I am without it.”
After pacing the Bruins with 39 goals last season, Geekie has firmly established himself in the top six. He currently skates on the second line alongside Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, contributing nine points through 12 games to tie for third-most on the club.
