The Bruins are coming into this game obviously without a few key players who are currently battling injures or suspension. We found out this morning that Daniel Paille will not be playing tonight due to an undisclosed upper body injury. We also have four players (Chara, Campbell, Johnson and Miller) who are coming off a minor bout with the flu. It looks like those four players will be playing in tonight's game though so we'll see how they manage.
Reto Berra has been.... well terrible. He has a 3.28 GAA and .894 SV% with a record of 4-6-2. It isn't entirely his fault because his defense has a tendency to collapse in front and is definitely struggling with keeping the puck in the opposite end. It also doesn't help that his offense seems really confused by the idea of a puck recently.
What all this boils down to is what should have been a relatively easy game. However, we do have to consider the injures we're facing. Our fourth line has been decimated by injury and suspension. Our second line is missing a great play maker in Eriksson. Our third line has been struggling to find an identity as is and is now missing it's veteran anchor. Two of our defensive pairs have been affected with the loss of Hamilton and McQuaid. Although it is comforting to know that Tuukka Rask is in net tonight with his 1.91 GAA and .934 SV% but we are still relying heavily on our depth players to help us pull through this game.
1. Nick Johnson: Johnson has played for the Penguins, the Wild, the Coyotes. Tonight will be his first NHL game with the Bruins but this season he has played 14 games for the Portland Pirates and has scored 3 goals with 6 assists. With those stats I can't help but think he'll be a good addition to the team but that will have to be seen.
2. Kevin Miller: I can't say enough good things about Miller. He's proven himself time and time again as a solid player on the blue line and a relatively good player maker. He's played 5 games for us, has one goal and is +2. He's obviously a very good fit for this team and he's proven we can rely on him during this injury struggle to play the kind of hockey that wins us games.
3. Ryan Spooner: Spooner is relatively fast player who has proven he's capable of producing if needed. This season Spooner has played 3 games, has 2 assists and a +1 rating with the Bruins. He seems to do well under pressure and in his past three games has made some pretty good plays.
4. Matt Fraser: Fraser has played for the Stars in the past and this season has played one game for the Bruins where he registered a +1 rating. It's hard to judge from that stat just how well he's meshes with the team or how well he'll do tonight. However, while he was on the Stars in 2013, Fraser played 12 games, scored one goal and registered 2 assists. So that may be a positive sign for things to come but then again, the Stars do play a different game then we do. It will be interesting to see how all of this comes together tonight in his performance.
5. Jordan Caron: Jordan Caron has played on the Bruins for four seasons now and he has been kind of mediocre. This season he's played 12 games with us with one goal and a -4 rating. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Caron but he's been better in past seasons. So let's hope he betters his record in tonight's game when we need him most.
As of now, the people I have to watch are all of our depth players because it's going to be interesting to see how they manage on a team that's really discombobulated right now.
Score Prediction: 4-2 Bruins Win
Keep calm and Bergeron!