Bruins Daily: ‘Merk’ Mania At The Garden; Swayman Extension?

‘Merk’ Mania is about to engulf TD Garden as Boston Bruins high-scoring prospect Georgii Merkulov will make his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

That, NHL news, the latest NHL trade rumors, and more in the latest Boston Hockey Now Bruins Daily:

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins need to jumpstart their 5-on-5 offense, so on Friday, they called up high-scoring prospect Georgii Merkulov.

Boston Hockey Now: If rookie Georgii Merkulov wants to stay in Boston for more than a cup of tea while fellow rookie center Matt Poitras is at the World Junior Championship, he will need to play a two-way game to impress Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.

Boston Hockey Now: On Monday, the Boston Bruins become free to give a contract extension to Vezina Trophy candidate Jeremy Swayman.

Patriots Football Now: Say hello to our new brother site, Patriots Football Now! If you subscribe here or at PHN, you get a subscription to both sites. Also, you will then be subscribed to every site in the National Hockey Now network! Use the code MURPHY10 and get $10 off a yearly subscription!**

Atlantic Division

Buffalo Hockey Now: There’s a new quarterback on the powerplay for the Buffalo Sabres.

Detroit Hockey Now: It’s quite fitting that there was a Gordie Howe Hat Trick for Detroit Red Wings winger Alex DeBrincat.

Florida Hockey Now: Another three-assist game and another milestone for Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov.

Montreal Hockey Now: Cumberland, Rhode Island native and former Northeastern defenseman Jayden Struble is earning a regular spot in the lineup for the Montreal Canadiens.

TSN: After a 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, could a goalie trade be coming for the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Sportsnet: As mentioned here and on ‘The Eye Test’ with Pierre McGuire and me, the head coach was not the problem with the Ottawa Senators.

NHL

NYI Hockey Now: That was a gut-check win over the Washington Capitals for the New York Islanders.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Bruins’ next opponent, the New Jersey Devils, won big on Friday night, throttling the Ottawa Senators.

Philly Hockey Now: On the tail end of a back-to-back, that was an impressive point against the Seattle Kraken for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The 500-goal milestone is within reach this season for Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center Evgeni Malkin.

Nashville Hockey Now: What’s up with Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros?

Chicago Hockey Now: That was a gutsy 5-4 overtime loss for Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Colorado Hockey Now: The Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 thanks to a bounce-back performance from goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

San Jose Hockey Now: Is a return to game action close for San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture?