Despite a 2-1 shootout victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night for their fourth consecutive victory, if the Boston Bruins show up with the same lackluster performance as they did versus the Wild today against the New Jersey Devils, they could be in for a long afternoon.
Boston, 6-1-3 in their last 10, has a chance to leapfrog the Ottawa Senators for top-dogs in the Northeast Division with a win today; while switching fifth-place for third with the Sens in the Eastern Conference.
Last year, Boston won 15-of-16 games following Thanksgiving Day. Now, looking for their fifth-straight victory, Boston faces an ever-tough team in the New Jersey Devils—7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
The B's are 34-18-5-8 lifetime against the Devils at home and have outscored N.J. 243-200 during that time. Tonight embarks the 127th match-up between the two Eastern Conference franchises, all time.
New Jersey took their first meeting this season on Oct. 29 with a 2-1 victory in Boston.
The game begins at 12 (noon) ET at the TD Garden, Boston, MA.
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Home Team: Boston Bruins (12-8-4, 28 points, 2nd Northeast Division, 5th Eastern Conference, 4-1-0 last five)
Who's Hot: Coach Julien is in quite the pickle already this season when it comes to his team's goaltending situation. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas has been sidelined with an apparent right-hand-injury that was evidently sustained after, or during, the Bruins 6-5 OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins back on Nov. 14.
Over the last five games, back-up net-minder Tuukka Rask has filled-in more than adequately for Thomas, going 4-1-0 with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .929 save-percentage. Rask has now improved his 2009-10 resume to 7-2-1 with .924 SV% (4th in the NHL) and 2.13 GAA (2nd). Even if Thomas is ready-to-go, it's going to be tough for Julien to sit the hot-handed Rask.
Who To Watch For: Patrice Bergeron has five points in his last four games (two shootout goals not included) and has won nearly 62-percent of his face-off draws in his last five. The MVP-to-date for the Bruins, Bergeron continues to epitomize the complete, "three zone player".
What To Watch For: Although killing 87-percent of their recent times short, the Bruins have committed 23 minor penalties in their last five games. The Black and Gold have the fourth-most minor penalties in the NHL with 90. Boston needs to play smart and keep their composure, or else the Devils could exploit these mishaps and make the Bruins pay.
Line Combinations:
Marco Sturm—Marc Savard—Byron Bitz
Milan Lucic—Patrice Bergeron—Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler—David Krejci—Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton—Steve Begin—Daniel Paille/Vladimir Sobotka
Zdeno Chara—Derek Morris
Andrew Ference—Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick—Mark Stuart
Tuukka Rask—Tim Thomas
Injury Report: Tim Thomas, hand, is day-to-day but could start today's matinee. Milan Lucic left Wednesday's game against the Wild late in the third period with a knee-injury. Keep an eye on TheBruinsBlog, and Twitter, for more last-minute info on No. 17.
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Away Team: New Jersey Devils (15-6-1, 31 points, 2nd Atlantic Division. 4th Eastern Conference, 2-2-1 last five)
Zach Parise eight game point-streak with 7-6-13, plus-12, 36 shots on goal — 13-15-28, plus-17, and 99 shots on goal in 22 games this season.
Travis Zajac has points in five of his last six contests, 1-7-8, plus-8 — 7-14-21 in 22 games played.
Patrick Elias has played eight of the last 10 games for the Devils since returning from offseason groin surgery. The 33-year-old center has averaged 25 shifts and over 18 minutes of total ice time for New Jersey, with 1-5-6 and a plus-1 rating in those eight games.
Martin Brodeur has started the last eight consecutive games for the Devils, posting a 5-2-1 record during that span, with a 1.75 goals-against average, and a .934 save-percentage.
Line Combinations:
Zach Parise—Travis Zajac—Nicklas Bergfors
Brian Rolston—Patrik Elias—Jamie Langenbrunner
Matt Halischuk—Dean McAmmond—David Clarkson
Andrew Peters—Tim Sestito—Tyler Eckford
Andy Greene—Bryce Salvador
Mike Mottau—Colin White
Mark Fraser—Matthew Corrente
Injury Report: Dainius Zubrus, IR since Nov. 21 with a fractured right patella. RW Ilkka Pikkarainen has missed the last five games. Center Rob Niedermayer has been out on the IR with an upper-body injury since Nov. 4. Forward Jay Pandolfo and defenseman Paul Martin remain on the IR since Oct. 26; Pandolfo with a separated shoulder and Martin with a broken left arm.
Tom Gulitti, Fire & Ice: "Center Tim Sesito had an ice bag wrapped around his left wrist/forearm after tonight’s game. That will be something to keep an eye on for Friday’s game."
"It appears unlikely that Devils center Rob Niedermayer will make his return from an upper-body injury this week."
"Dainius Zubrus is still a while away from playing, though, after breaking his right kneecap last Thursday in Nashville."
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