This edition of the the Bruins game preview, we have NHL Examiner Chris Morgan to help out with the home team, Ottawa Senators.

The Bruins have had the Senators number for the past couple of seasons by going  5-0-1 against Ottawa last season--winning eight of 11 since 2008-- while outscoring the squad 23-16. Let's see if the Bruins finally get over that .500 hump once and for all in their 10th game this season. Puck drop at 7pm tonight at the Scortiabank Place in Ottawa.

Away Team: Boston Bruins (4-4-1)

Who's hot:

Goaltending: The tandem of Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask between the pipes has given the Bruins every chance to succeed this week. Despite the shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, Rask stopped 36 of 39 shots he faced, and helped the Bruins pickup one much needed point.

Thomas  picked up his third win of the season with a 28 save performance, as the B's upped the Predators, 3-2, on Wednesday night. Thomas, along with Patrice Bergeron, was the best player on the ice that night. On the season, Thomas is now 3-3-1 with a .902 save-rercentage, and a 3.00 goals-against average. For the week, two games, the duo of Rask and Thomas are 1-0-1 with five goals-against on 69 shots. Quick calculation: 2.50 goals-against and .928 save-percentage.

Steve Begin: Two goals in back-to-back games. The fourth-line center, now third-liner, is now tied for second on the team with six points--along with Michael Ryder and Partice Bergeron. Both goals came in the exact same spot on the ice--middle, in front of the net, stick down, head up, anticipating the pass and rebound.

Who's not:

Here are two players, if you look at there recent stats sheet over the past two games, look like they are non-existent, hence, "who's not hot". For the most part, I think fans look at the stats sheets far too deeply, and are ill-advised when it comes to the actualy player in each situation of every game.

Mark Stuart: Take a peak at Stuart's last two games on the stat sheet. He has zero points, zero shots on goal, and totals a minus-4. He was even on the ice for all three goals-against during the Flyers game on Thursday night. Come to think of it, he was directly responsible for at least one, if not at least two, of those three regualtion time goals.

Goal one-against: Pronger takes a prototypical Pronger-like-bomb from the point, off of Stuart's knee, and past Rask for a 1-0 Flyers lead. It could have happened to anyone. Stuart was in good position, but at the unfortunate wrong place at the wrong time. Just plain 'ol bad luck.

Goal two: Stuart takes a high stcik to the face from teammate, Steve Begin, in front of Tuukka Rask. Clearly clipped hard in the mug, Stuart went down in pain, allowing Flyers' Darroll Powe an easy tip-in past Tuukka Rask in front of the net.

Goal three: Flyers forward Arron Asham deserves virtually all the credit with his second goal of the season here, but Stuart was on the ice, in front of the slapper past Rask. Granted Stuart left a good bit of space between himself and Asham, but Brad Marchand was playing "catch-up" with Asham through the neutral zone on the back-check, to the face-off dot to the left of Rask.

In short; Stuart's zero points, zero shots on net, and minus-4 over the last two games is not indicitave of his overall play.

Mark Recchi: The 41-year-old future Hall of Fame forward has tallied just three points and 10 shots on goal in nine games this season. He hasn't registered a point in the past three game, while taking just two shots on net. Recchi, like Stuart, has been left off the boxscore but isn't necessarily in a rut. In Thursday's contest against the Flyers, it originally looked like Recchi tipped-in the goal from Matt Hunwick's shot from the point. He in fact did not, but he did play a big part in that goal. Doing what the 5'10" Recchi does is play like he's about 6'2" in front of the net. Recchi read the play, crashed the net, and caused a screen on Flyers net-minder, Ray Emery.

Who to watch for:

Derek Morris: Morris lit the lamp for the first time as a member of the Boston Bruins on Thursday night--a power play goal which makes it even sweeter. Now that the 31-year-old defenseman got that small hump behind him, look for him to play even better now that the pressure has eased-up. His five points ties him with captain Zdeno Chara for more points from a blue-liner, but still has the worst plus-minus rating on the team with a minus-4. I'd expect that stat, as well as his nine shots of goal to get much better very soon.

What to watch for:

Penalties: Although Ottawa is ranked fourth in the NHL on the penalty kill with 88.6-percent, and 29th on the power play (12.5%), the Bruins need to keep it smart tonight. The Senators are the second-most penalized team in the NHL with an average of almost 19 penalty minutes per game. If the B's keep their composure and take all of the power play chance that are given to them, the better. After all, the Bruins aren't that much better on the PK with their 16.7-percent.

Under the radar player to watch:

Daniel Paille: With the added minutes and shifts per game, I really like what Paille brings to this team. He's not the biggest player out there, but he's a solid body with great fore-checking and back-checking abilities. In two games he's averaging roughly 15 minutes per game and over a minute of penalty killing duties in each.

'Line combinations and defensive pairings;

For starters, these (below) were the line combos for the Bruins last game. Guillaume Lefebvre was called up from the AHL Providence Bruins for Thursday's game (DNP) and was at a four-man practice yesterday in Ottawa. Also in attendance was Bruins fourth line toughman, Shawn Thornton. Thornton, who missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, is listed as probable for tonight's game. If he's good to go, anticipate him to assume his natural fourth line duties, along with Steve Begin and Byron Bitz. That could leave Whitfield the odd-man-out, making Vladimir Sobotka the third-line center between Blake Wheeler and Daniel Paille. Nothing concrete, just a possible scenario.

Marco Sturm—David Krejci—Mark Recchi
Brad Marchand—Patrice Bergeron—Michael Ryder
Vladimir Sobotka—Trent Whitfield—Blake Wheeler
Daniel Paille—Steve Begin—Byron Bitz
Zdeno Chara—Derek Morris
Andrew Ference—Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick—Mark Stuart

Injury report:

Milan Lucic: Out 4-6 weeks with a broken right index finger

Marc Savard: Out 4-6 weeks with a broken left foot

Shawn Thornton: Undiscloed injury, probable for tonight.

Home Team: Ottawa Senators (5-2-1)

By: Chris Morgan, NHL Examiner

Who’s hot?

Daniel Alfredsson appears to be doing just fine without Dany Heatley around. Alfredsson currently leads the Senators with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) and in terms of more acute hotness, he has seven points in Ottawa’s last three games.

Who’s not?

Fun fact: Did you know Jonathan Cheechoo once led the NHL in goals scored for the season? It’s true, he got a trophy and everything. That Cheechoo is long gone, however. In a matter of a couple of years he’s fallen apart. Last season, he only scored 12 goals on the year, and so far this season he has a whopping zero, with two assists his lone contribution to the team.

Who to Watch for:

Currently, Jason Spezza hasn’t lit the lamp. However, unlike with Cheechoo, don’t expect that to last much longer. Spezza has scored over 30 goals the past three seasons, and he hasn’t been terrible this year, notching seven assists so far. Eventually, he is going to find the back of the net, and it just might happen against Boston.

What to Watch for:

So far, the Ottawa power play has struggled mightily, only converting 12.5% of their extra man opportunities. This is an area where they are likely missing Heatley, and where they really wish they had a goal scoring defenseman. Maybe Spezza will score on the power play and kill two birds with one stone.

Unsung/Under the Radar Player Watch:

Hey, remember Pascal Leclaire? The oft injured former Columbus netminder is currently playing between the pipes for the Senators, and he’s doing quite well so far. Through seven games, he’s posting a 2.71 GAA and a .903 SV%. If Leclaire can stay healthy (and that’s one of the bigger “ifs” you’ll ever find) he could provide the goaltending they’ve lacked since Ray Emery, before his less than stellar final days in Ottawa, that is. Also Mike Fisher has seven points through eight games so far; with three assists and a plus-2 in the last two games.

Injury Report:

Filip Kuba has been out since the season opener with a “lower body injury” and his return date is unknown. Pascal Leclaire has the flu and is not likely to start.