PROVIDENCE, R.I. — After their 6-2 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets, it was the Bruins defensemen that received most of the scrutiny from both the media and the fans after the game. Much, if not all of the burden was placed on Matt Irwin in particular. He was a minus-3 on the night and two costly mistakes (a turnover behind the Bruins net and getting beat by Winnipeg’s Chris Thorburn) led to two Jets goals in the opening night rout.
It didn’t get much better for the UMass-Amherst product, as he finished with a minus-2 rating in the game against Montreal two nights later.