These Bruins off to fast starts
Three obvious candidates for Bruins MVP so far:
▪ David Pastrnak: Tied for the league lead in scoring entering the weekend (6-9–15, a 154-point pace over 82 games), as agent J.P. Barry negotiates a contract extension.
▪ Linus Ullmark: 5-0-0, 2.01, .936 as
Jeremy Swayman finds his game. ▪ Hampus Lindholm: Nearly a point per game (2-5–7 in eight games) and giving the Bruins 24 minutes of shutdown defense a night as Charlie McAvoy recovers.
Boston the latest stop for Stralman
Anton Stralman isn’t a wrestling fan. He doesn’t recall matches being shown on Swedish TV when he was growing up, or seeing action figures in the stores.
But the well-traveled Bruins defenseman’s slight resemblance to WWE legend “Stone Cold” Steve Austin — bald head, blond goatee — has caused a few “hell yeahs” to be thrown around a few NHL rooms over the years.
He got tagged with the “Stone Cold” nickname as a Panther in 2019, when he arrived as a free agent and debuted a glossy pate. Someone posted an image of Austin 3:16 next to Stralman, No. 6, and he’s been hearing it ever since.
Stralman, now wearing 86 for the Bruins, is with his ninth organization, including a 2009 season that sent him from Toronto to Calgary to Columbus, and two PTOs (New Jersey, 2011, and Boston). The 36-year-old may not get to 1,000 games — he had played in 932 entering the weekend — but given how the Bruins look so far, he has a chance to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Loose pucks
NHL ideas maven Steve Mayer told Sportsnet that the upcoming Winter Classic at Fenway Park will have a different spin than the 2011 game. The ice sheet will be located near the Green Monster, rather than between first and third base. Meyer also alluded to the on-field accouterments, including a baseball diamond made of ice, rather than dirt. Players might be able to play around on it. “They could skate the bases,” Mayer mused . . . The 2024 World Cup of Hockey, Meyer said, will be contested on the east coast of North America (six or seven cities in the running), and in Europe. It’s expected the final round will be held in North America . . . The Coyotes debuted at still-under-construction Mullett Arena on Friday with visiting locker rooms fit for a youth team jamboree. Until the project is completed next month, players will dress and prepare for games in a curtain-and-rod set-up on the floor of the community rink next door. Seeing NHL games at Arizona State’s arena, which seats fewer than 5,000, will be like catching a stadium-size act in a small club. Like U2 at the Paradise, or Billy Joel at Great Scott . . . Vintage performances by Erik Karlsson this October. His 4-5–9 line entering Friday tied Rasmus Dahlin for the scoring lead among defensemen. Karlsson had two OT winners. He isn’t the guy who torched the Bruins in the spring of 2017, but he’s helping the Sharks stomach the loss of Brent Burns to Carolina . . . Six of the 15 highest-scoring defensemen were Swedes, a list that included Lindholm (T-4 entering Friday) . . . The Jack Studnicka trade delivered 19-year-old Swedish defensive prospect Jonathan Myrenberg from Vancouver. The Bruins seem encouraged by the 2021 fifthrounder’s size (6 feet 3 inches) and handedness (right), but he’s several years away. He profiles as a two-way, third-pair guy . . . John Beecher opened 0-0–0 in Providence, whose leading scorers were Fabian Lysell (1-5–6 in three games) and Georgii Merkulov, Vinni Lettieri, and Joona Koppanen (5 points each). Merkulov, a gifted attacker, had four goals in five games . . . Major blow for the promising Senators, who started by winning four of six games: Josh Norris will miss several months with a shoulder injury. Coach D.J. Smith wasn’t confident Norris would play again this season . . . Ottawa’s Shane Pinto vaulted himself into the early Calder Trophy discussion with five goals in his first five games . . . Columbus is taking a look at sixth overall pick (2022) David Jiricek, after fellow blue liner Adam Boqvist broke his foot and stands to miss six weeks . . . The name Travis Roy will never be forgotten in Boston, even though the foundation that bears his name is winding down operations after 26 years. Roy’s parents, Lee and Brenda, pledged $2 million on behalf of the foundation to help create The Travis Roy Center for Enhanced Independence at Spaulding Rehabilitation, to serve those with spinal cord injuries, their families, and caregivers . . . Gotta love Denis Potvin’s new tonguein-cheek venture: selling “Potvin Socks,” with a portion of proceeds going to an Islanders charity. What, you thought Rangers fans had been chanting something else these last 43 years?