Bruins Brief: Breaking Down; Marchand Nets First with Panthers

Good morning, my name is Andrew Fantucchio. It’s Friday, April 11, and here are the top stories, news items, and highlights surrounding the Boston Bruins and from across the NHL today.

Bruins News:

Breakdown Against Blackhawks: Outside of a minute-and-a-half stretch in the third period, the Bruins were the better team on Thursday night. But that’s all it took to cost them against the Chicago Blackhawks. Read the full Bruins recap. 

Duran Makes NHL Debut: While it was such a good night for the Bruins as a whole, it was still a pretty good one for Riley Duran as the team’s latest prospect to get a chance at the NHL level.

McAvoy and Kastelic Shutdown:  The Bruins still have two games left on their schedule, but the year is already over for Charlie McAvoy and Mark Kastelic.

NHL News & Highlights:

The Other Side of the Story: What was yet another frustrating loss for the Bruins was an encouraging win for the Chicago Blackhawks on the back of a strong performance from their young defense corps.

Marchand Scores First Goal for Florida: Avert your eyes. Brad Marchand scored his first goal as a member of the Florida Panthers last night, helping them to a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Brad Marchand nets his first goal as a member of the Panthers.pic.twitter.com/w4c7n88ami

— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) April 11, 2025

Suspended Ekblad Rejoins Panthers: Speaking of the Florida Panthers, Aaron Ekblad was back at practice with the team on Thursday for the first time since being suspended for using PEDs. The defenseman still has six games left on his suspension and is eligible to return to Florida’s lineup in Game 3 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Boeser Preparing For End with Canucks: As the Bruins will look for goal scoring help on the free agency market this summer, Brock Boeser will certainly be a target as it seems he knows his time the Vancouver Canucks is coming to a close.

Yesterday’s Scoreboard:

Blackhawks: 5, Bruins: 2

Panthers: 4, Red Wings: 1

Blue Jackets: 3, Sabres: 2

Capitals: 5, Hurricanes: 4

Rangers: 9, Islanders: 2

Jets: 4, Stars: 0

Canucks: 4, Avalanche: 1

Predators: 4, Utha Hockey Club: 3 (SO)

Golden Knights: 2, Kraken: 1

Kings: 6, Ducks: 1

Today’s Schedule:

All Times EST

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m.

San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers, 9:30 p.m.

Minnesota Wild vs. Calgary Flames, 10 p.m.

More From National Hockey Now:

Montreal: The Montreal Canadiens made a major move by signing top Russian prospect. The next order of business is finding someone on the free agent market to play with him.

Philadelphia: If you haven’t heard of Tyson Foerester, you will soon. The forward is red hot for the Philadelphia Flyers, and his stock is on the rise.

NY Islanders: A blowout loss to their arch-rivals all but eliminated the New York Islanders from playoff contention and left them absolutely defeated inside the locker room.

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