Welcome to the latest edition of the Boston Bruins’ 3 Up, 3 Down for the 2022-23 season. This will be a weekly column released on Mondays chronicling the highs and lows of the previous seven days.
It was a week that certainly had a lot more ups than downs for the Boston Bruins. They won three of their four games and are off to a fast 5-1-0 start that not a lot of people saw coming considering the injuries they are dealing with. The Bruins will enjoy two more games at home this week before they hit the road. Here is a look back at the last seven days for the Black and Gold.
Plus One: Matt Grzelcyk Makes Season Debut
In June, the Bruins announced that Matt Grzelcyk was going to be one of three players that were going to miss the beginning of the season recovering from offseason surgery. Along with Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, the Black and Gold were preparing for up to two long months to begin the season without two of their top-four defensemen and their leading scorer from last season. There were signs in the last week that Grzelcyk was getting closer to returning and he did against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 20.
Grzelcyk made his season debut in the Bruins’ 2-1 shootout victory, playing with Jakub Zboril and logged just over 20 minutes in the game and playing in all situations. Against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 22, Grzelcyk had an assist and tied for a team-high with five shots on the net in just under 20 minutes of time on the ice. His return is a nice addition to a unit that had been playing well in the first three games, before their hiccup on Oct. 18 in a 7-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators. McAvoy is practicing with his teammates, but in a non-contact jersey, which is a good sign that he is on schedule to return around American Thanksgiving.
Minus One: Anton Stralman Struggles in First Game as a Bruin
When the Bruins made it official on Oct. 12 when they signed veteran defenseman Anton Stralman to a one-year, $1 million contract, it was a low-risk, high-reward move considering the lack of right-shot depth on defense. He finally joined his teammates in Boston on Oct. 21 after clearing up visa issues, but he was able to make his debut against the Senators in Canada.
It was a forgettable night for the 36-year-old veteran who struggled in the defensive end, turned the puck over for an Ottawa goal, played 18:29, and finished with a plus/minus of minus-2 in what was a tough night for the defense…
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