ST. PAUL, Minn. — For two teams who only play twice a season, the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild find unique ways to create tension.
Perhaps the similarities in the team’s structure make the bad blood between one another unavoidable. Maybe the events from the last meeting with Trent Frederic’s high hit to Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota’s dynamic playmaker, provided a carry-over effect. Or perhaps the Bruins needed to make up for Patrice Bergeron’s loss — considered day to day after returning to Boston to avoid an infection on a lingering arm injury — with an emphasis on physicality.