Fresh Links: Let It Blow

The Hurricanes breeze into TD Garden tonight at 7:00PM to face the NHL’s top team on NESN.

• The matchup tonight marks the first meeting of the season for the two Eastern Conference teams. Fox News
• Eleven games, nineteen days- do the math. Tonight the Bruins are only on day #5 of a decidedly difficult stretch in their schedule. Causeway Crowd
• Boston is riding a notedly hot start this season. Boston Globe
• This hot start is despite a key wrench in the Bruins’ works. NESN
• This team could be better. Boston Herald
• Potpourri from this week includes David Pastrnak getting the big boy treatment from the Canadiens, David Backes’ triumphant return, a big stop for Tuukka Rask, and grumbles about officiating that DIDN’T come from a Bruin. 985 The Sports Hub
• The absence of Patrice Bergeron has been mitigated by David Krejci stepping into the breach. WEEI
• The Bruins are doing well, Jake DeBrusk is doing well. Coincidence? Bonus- John Moore has successfully completed his conditioning stint in Providence. Providence Journal
• Not only performance, but value as well. How lucky are the Bruins to have David Pastrnak? The Hockey News
• Way back in 2015, working alongside Chris Kelly through an injury paid dividends for young Pastrnak. NHL
• Enjoy the latest “Behind the B” spisode to appreciate the long career of Head Trainer Don DelNegro and and relish Torey Krug chirping Brad Marchand yet again. (Video, 21:37) Bruins NHL
• Jonesing for more Bruins news? Check in with daily updates on all things Bruins from old friend @IanCMcLaren on his Locked On Bruins podcast. (Audio, 31:00) Megaphone

NHL Standings:

• Boston leads the Atlantic Division NHL, the Eastern Conference NHL, and the league. (Standings have been pretty sticky, but links are NOT STATIC) NHL
• Note that David Pastrnak is the top goal scorer- he and Brad Marchand are still solidly among the Offensive Leaders, the latter in every category. Marchand leads in plus/minus, joining David Krejci and Zdeno Chara. On the netminding side, Tuukka Rask is solidly among top Goaltending Leaders in every category, where Jaroslav Halak joins him among the Goals Against and Save Percentage best. (Links are NOT STATIC) NHL

Elsewhere around the rink:

• Is there anything more quintessentially Canadian than billeting? Patrick Sharp reminisces about being a young man far from home taken in and nurtured by a family in Ottawa. Yahoo
• Coaching success is not about browbeating players into submission. HockeyBuzz
• Okay, so he’s not ALL bad. Mark Borowiecki clotheslined a robber and recovered stolen goods. CBS Sports
• Nope. The current NHL introspection on racism will not spark any change in the status quo. Globe and Mail