(Photo courtesy of Yahoo! News) “Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman hangs out with a catfish during game.”
Sarah Mahannah
Connector Editor
Hockey teams have been busy as the NHL season picks up after a week-long break and the All-Star game. This past week, the Bruins had two victories on away games against Dallas to start the week and against Nashville to end it.
The Boston Bruins (40-8-5) faced the Dallas Stars (30-14-10) Tuesday night on the road at the American Airlines Center in Texas. The game started off strong for Dallas as they went into the third period with a 2-1 lead over the Bruins. About halfway into the third period, Boston forward Pavel Zacha evened up the game and brought it into overtime.
In overtime, Zacha picked up an assist from forward David Pastrňák to get the winning goal. Tuesday’s win kept the Bruins at the top of the league, and Boston became the first team to get its 40th win of the 2022-2023 NHL season.
On Thursday night, the Bruins came together to show why they’re the number one team in the league this season as they shut out the Nashville Predators 5-0. The Bruins led in the first period with a goal from forward Brad Marchand (with an assist from forward Patrice Bergeron). In the second period, forward Craig Smith scored with an assist from defenseman Charlie McAvoy, followed by a wrist shot from Bergeron and later a deflection by defenseman Derek Forbort. The Bruins ended the third period strong with a goal from forward Trent Frederic and held off the Predators to keep the game a shutout.
The shutout at Bridgestone Arena was the second of the season for Bruins’ goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who has recently been in the spotlight in the hockey community as he has been one of the best goalies in the league this season. Thursday’s game is further proof of Swayman’s strengths.
The Nashville game will be one to remember as things got fishy during the last moments of the second period, when a fan threw a dead catfish onto the ice.
The throwing of a catfish has been a tradition of the Predators since they landed in Nashville in the late 1990s, where they took this idea from the Detroit Red Wings, who have been known to throw an octopus onto the arena.
Although these traditions are well known, the event always amuses viewers. This time may be more symbolic because often the fish is thrown in between plays, but on Thursday the fish landed in the middle of a play.
Although there was amusement from the crowd about the match turning into an impromptu ice fishing game, the players kept going as normal once it had been taken care of. All except Bruins goalie Swayman, who was caught by cameras looking a bit peeved by Nashville’s gift of a pet fish.
Following Thursday night’s loss, the Predators fell to 25-21-6 on the season, landing a spot in 10th place in the Western Conference. The Bruins kept their top spot in the Eastern Conference and overall in the entire league.
Next week, the Bruins will return to Boston to host the Ottawa Senators on February 20th at the Garden. Then they will be back on the road to face the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on February 23rd.
The Bruins has had a steady lead above other teams in the league for the top spot, but with their record recently, the Bruins will need to get back on their winning streak to keep their lead on the road to the Stanley Cup.