Away Team: Tampa Bay Lightning (10-7-8, 28 points, 3rd Southeast Division, 8th Eastern Conference, 2-2-1 last five games)
By: Althea Pashman, Tampa Bay Lightning Examiner
Who's Hot:
Steven Stamkos has been held pointless in just five games for the Lightning this season. He leads the team with 29 points and goals with 17 – seven of them coming on the power-play. Over his last five games he’s recorded 7 points (3-4-7)
Martin St. Louis hasn’t been finding the back of the net (5 goals) and he’s goalless in his last five games, but he’s tops on the team with 23 assists and is second in scoring with 28 points. St. Louis was held without a point (against Colorado on Monday night) for just the second time in the previous 10 games. In 32 career games versus the Bruins, St. Louis has recorded 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists).
Mike Smith is (2-1-2, 2.56) since getting pulled against the Flyers on November 2nd when he allowed 5 goals on 18 shots.
The Lightning is 4-1-3 on the road in its last eight games away from home heading into Wednesday’s game at Boston.
Who's Not:
Ryan Malone is scoreless in his past three games. Prior to this Malone had not been held without a point in back-to-back games all season and is a plus/minus -3 entering Wednesday’s game against the Bruins. Career wise against Boston Malone has 9 points (6-3-9) in 16 games.
Alex Tanguay is goalless in seven consecutive games and has recorded just four assists over this span since he recorded a season-high three points against Phoenix on November 16. Tanguay has recorded 12 points (4-8-12) in 14 games against the Bruins.
Vincent Lecavalier is having a tough time scoring this season (5-16-21) but has had great success against Boston in his career with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 40 games. Over his last five games, Lecavalier has just 2 points (1-1-2).
What To Watch For:
The power-play which has been one of the keys to the Lightning’s success over the last eleven games. The unit racked up goals in seven straight and 10 of 11 before they got shutout by Colorado on Monday night (0-7).
On the power-play, Coach Rick Tocchet plays two units to maintain the energy levels and to promote competition. He’s split the forward lines like this: Vinny Lecavalier (C) with Alex Tanguay and Jeff Halpern and Steven Stamkos (C) with Ryan Malone and Steve Downie. St. Louis plays the point on both units with the other point position split between Kurtis Foster and Andrej Meszaros.
Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos have combined for 32 goals this season, ranked in 2nd for most among NHL teammates entering Tuesday’s games. Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks lead with 35 combined goals.
Who To Watch For:
Matt Smaby could finally get to see some game action. He’s not played in a single game this season and just returned from his third conditioning stint with the Norfolk Admirals. Coach Rick Tocchet said last week that he wanted to get Smaby into the lineup sometime this week.
With the return of Mattias Ohlund, Tocchet will likely continue to use Kurtis Foster in the forward position – specifically for his ‘monster’ shot on the power-play. Foster has picked up five points (3-2-5) over his last six games, with three of the points coming on the power-play.
Hard to say at this time who will get the start in net, but my guess is that Antero Niittymaki will since Mike Smith played in back-to-back games against the Rangers on Friday then Dallas on Sunday. Niittymaki is 4-4-1 with a 3.02 GAA and 1 shutout in 9 games against Boston. Smith is 1-2-0 with a 2.36 GAA in 3 games against Boston.
Line Combinations:
Ryan Malone – Steven Stamkos – Marty St. Louis
Alex Tanguay – Vinny Lecavalier – Jeff Halpern
James Wright – Paul Szczechura – Steve Downie
Kurtis Foster – Zenon Konopka – Stephane Veilleux
Victor Hedman – Mattias Ohlund
Lukas Krajicek – Andrej Meszaros
Matt Walker – David Hale
Smith – Niittymaki
Injury Report: Paul Ranger – out since October 24, placed on IR Nov. 5 (indefinite leave of absence). Defenseman Mike Lundin was re-assigned back to AHL Norfolk.
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Home Team: Boston Bruins (13-8-5, 31 points, 2nd Northeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 4-0-1 last five)
By: Mark Marino, Boston Bruins Examiner
Who's Hot:
Blake Wheeler's time to hit the back of the net in bunches is rapidly approaching. Last week, Wheeler tallied 2-1-3 in four games played, and probably had a dozen-or-so other scoring opportunities. The 23-year-old (7-7-14) has been seeing more and more time on the power-play 9second unit); averaging just over three-minutes per game last week. Wheeler is also on the first-line, centered by Marc Savard, since Milan Lucic's recent injury.
Dennis Wideman has been finding his groove on the blue-line since two things have occurred: One; being reunited with the more stay-at-home defenseman Andrew Ference; and the second, since being paired with Patrice Bergeron on the point on the Bruins' second power-play unit. Wideman notched a 1-2-3 scoring line in four games last week.
Who's Not:
Matt Hunwick signed a two-year contract with the Boston Bruins this past off-season. He was supposed to be that offensive threat on the blue-line that also possessed good puck moving skills out of the defensive zone. Some people even said that he could have been the difference maker in the playoff series against Carolina last year. Personally, I laughed at that latter remark, and I still think the hype that surrounds this kid is vastly overrated.
Hunwick almost made a liar out of me, however, in the beginning of the season by tallying two goals and an assist in the first four games; and 3-1-4 after the first nine games. Since then: 17 games played, one goal, one assist, a minus-2 rating, and 13 shots on goal. Hunwick is now point-less in his last seven. His position could be better filled by Johnny Boychuk, who continues to be a healthy scratch.
What To Watch For:
Boston's goaltending has been spectacular in the recent weeks, backstopping the team to a 6-1-3 record in their last ten contests. Before starting in Saturday's game against the Ottawa Senators, Tim Thomas missed the previous six games with an apparent hand injury. Back-up net-minder Tuukka Rask filled in more than adequately for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, going 4-1-1 over those six. Last week, Rask notched a 2-0-1 record while stopping 93-of-97 shots against, for a .959 save-percentage and 1.33 goals-against average.
|
2009-10 season |
WINS |
LOSSES |
OTL |
SV % |
GAA |
SHUTOUTS |
|
Tim Thomas |
6 |
6 |
3 |
.915 (15TH) |
2.36 (10TH) |
3 (1ST) |
|
Tuukka Rask |
7 |
2 |
2 |
.929 (3RD) |
2.02 (2ND) |
1 |
Also, the Bruins went 5-for-15 on the power-play last week and successfully killed 14 out of 16 times short-handed.
Who To Watch For:
Patrice Bergeron has been the MVP of the Bruins so far this season. The quintessential three zone player, Bergeron has elevated his game to a new level that we have not seen before – mainly due to the series of concussions that he has sustained over past few seasons. Winning crucial face-off draws (7th in the NHL with 57.7%), logging over two minutes of ice-time per game on the PK, and nearly three minutes on the PP, No. 37 has been doing whatever it takes to win.
Marc Savard will be playing in his fifth game since returning from a broken left foot that kept him sidelined for 15 games prior. He's been an immediate impact on the team, playing over 19 minutes and 25-plus shifts per game. Last week, Savvy had three assists and a plus-2 rating, and seems to be gelling with new line-mates Byron Bitz and Blake Wheeler.
Line Combinations:
Blake Wheeler—Marc Savard—Byron Bitz
Marco Sturm—Patrice Bergeron—Mark Recchi
Vladimir Sobotka—David Krejci—Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton—Steve Begin—Daniel Paille
Zdeno Chara—Derek Morris
Andrew Ference—Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick—Mark Stuart
Tuukka Rask—Tim Thomas
Injury Report: Milan Lucic is on the IR with a high ankle sprain, and is expected to miss up to three more weeks. (updated)*Johnny Boychuk has been assigned to AHL Providence to get some playing time in -- under two weeks.
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