"He's able to physically dominate guys — which I think is his superpower." The post A new partnership between McAvoy, Zadorov has Bruins defense regaining some bite appeared first on Boston.com.

BOSTON — At his pregame availability before Saturday’s game against Carolina, Marco Sturm gave his normal Bruins lineup updates. Jeremy Swayman will start in goal. Viktor Arvidsson will play more on the power play with Elias Lindholm out, and there are no changes on defense.

BOSTON - Alexander Nikishin scored his second goal of the season to give the Carolina Hurricanes late life at TD Garden, but it was not enough to overcome a two-goal deficit as they fell 2-1 to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

The Bruins' struggles continue to make Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, along with Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov. The Blues, meanwhile, remain patient with their core players.

Despite the Hurricanes’ rally, the Bruins stayed in command the rest of the game. They did not stray from their structure. Their forecheck arrived on time. They limited Carolina’s center-ice speed. In the defensive zone, the Bruins reduced the Hurricanes’ time up high with smothering man-to-man coverage. Around the net, the Bruins had layers.

Just a couple of weeks ago, it was open season on Casey Mittelstadt. Seemingly a lightning rod for criticism since he was drafted eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2017, Mittelstadt found himself a healthy scratch in Utah on Oct. 19 and the knives were out for him again.

Marat Khusnutdinov scored 2:07 into overtime and the Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Alex Tuch’s goal with 5:35 left in regulation tied it, wiping out Buffalo’s two-goal deficit in the third period.

The Boston Bruins' early-season struggles have made Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, while Yegor Chinakhov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nick Robertson of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brennan Othmann of the New York Rangers remain fixtures in the rumor mill.

BOSTON — Behind a terrific bounce-back effort by Jeremy Swayman and a strong start to the third period, the Bruins earned one of their best wins this season. The Hurricanes came in leading the NHL in scoring, but Swayman kept them off the board until late. He made 27 saves in the 2-1 win as Boston improved to 7-7-0.

David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist to help the Boston Bruins rally for a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders.