10 Boston Bruins Games You Need To Watch Not Played at Fenway Park

As jubilant as Boston is that they'll be the host of the third Winter Classic, there are still 81 more games to be played in the Bruins' quest for a Stanley Cup.

Despite these games having roofs over their heads and lacking a 37-foot-tall monster (although they do present us with a near seven foot tall captain), there's no denying that there's still a lot of buzz generating around these games.

10. New York Islanders at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 10: 7 PM)

Rarely is it a big deal when the 15th place team battles against the first place team from the year before, but the buzz about the newest Islander makes it worth the viewing. This game marks the debut of Jonathan Tavares at the TD Bank Garden.

If the hype is correct and this kid is on the same level as Sidney Crosby was in his first year, then this battle between the rebuilding Islanders and Bruins should be a good one.

9. Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins (Saturday Nov. 28: 7 PM)

Will Dany Heatley still be a member of the Ottawa Senators come Nov. 28? I suppose that doesn't really matter because the story here is created by Boston's favorite player to hate, Alexei Kovalev.

The long despised Canadien traded in his Montreal sweater for a divisional foe Sens jersey, but I'm sure that won't change the way the Garden faithful views him. It'll certainly be interesting to see how loud and long-winded the boos are for L'artiste, even without the Montreal jersey on.

8. Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins (Saturday Feb. 6: 1 PM)

Much of the excitement behind this game, in my opinion, comes from the face that this is Vancouver's first trip back to Boston since Nov. 15, 2003.

Since then, both teams have found a new jersey styles and along with new directions for the better within their franchise. This game will also likely pit two of the best goaltenders in the NHL against one another.

7. Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins (Thursday Nov. 5: 7 PM)

It's hard to make the case that any Bruins vs. Canadiens game lacks excitement because, well it's just plain not true. This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the Bruins four game sweep of the Canadiens in their centennial season.

With the Habs adding two former Bruins in Paul Mara and Hal Gill while the Bruins add former Canadien tough-guy Steve Begin, expect things to get awfully chippy (per usual) in this Original Six clash.

6. Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (Sunday Nov. 1: 1 PM)

This game may be competing against the time slots of most NFL teams, but I'm already locked in on this matchup. The Rangers are coming off a frustrating end to their season as they blew a three-game series lead to bow out of the conference quarter-finals and always provide great competition against Boston.

A stat worth mention is the fact that seven out of the last eight meetings between these teams were decided by one-goal, including four over-time thrillers. In these eight matchups the Bruins are 5-1-2.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Saturday Dec. 5: 7 PM)

Fairly new Leafs GM Brian Burke is already putting his patented Burke-stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As he did in Anaheim, where he put together a Stanley Cup winning team, he's loading the Maple Leafs up with good ole' fashioned North American bruisers.

Undoubtedly, his biggest splash came with the robbery of defensemen Mike Komisarek away from, Montreal, a player loathed by Boston fans and players alike.

Along with Komisarek, the additions of Colton Orr and Garnet Exelby make the Leafs a lot scrappier and will ultimately provide a great physical contest when they come to the Garden for a Saturday night in Boston. Doesn't this one have Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins Part II written all over it?

4. Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins (Thursday Oct. 1: 7 PM)

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