In the second of four meetings, the Bruins (34-15-3) take on the struggling (although they usually just suck in general) Canadiens (28-20-5) in hopes of extending our win streak to 5 games and evening the tally after the debacle that was the last time we played them.
There may or may not be a slight change in the roster tonight after Claude Julien moved Daniel Paille up to the third line with Soderberg and Eriksson. He more than likely did this because it was Kelly's first game back after his broken ankle and Julien wanted to start him off a bit slower to be on the safe side. It's hard to tell what the decision will be tonight, especially against a somewhat physical Canadien team. My best bet is the lines return to normal, but you can never be sure.
Outside of this, Adam McQuaid is still out with that pesky leg injury and Jordan Caron will once again, by the grace of the hockey gods, be the healthy scratch up front. It still baffles me that we decided to keep him on but sent Spooner back to the AHL, but sometimes the Bruins don't make much sense and we have no choice but to just nod and smile.
There may or may not be a slight change in the roster tonight after Claude Julien moved Daniel Paille up to the third line with Soderberg and Eriksson. He more than likely did this because it was Kelly's first game back after his broken ankle and Julien wanted to start him off a bit slower to be on the safe side. It's hard to tell what the decision will be tonight, especially against a somewhat physical Canadien team. My best bet is the lines return to normal, but you can never be sure.
Outside of this, Adam McQuaid is still out with that pesky leg injury and Jordan Caron will once again, by the grace of the hockey gods, be the healthy scratch up front. It still baffles me that we decided to keep him on but sent Spooner back to the AHL, but sometimes the Bruins don't make much sense and we have no choice but to just nod and smile.
Projected Bruins Line Up
Lucic-Krejci-Iginla
Marchand-Bergeron-Smith
Paille/Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson
Kelly/Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Chara-Boychuk
Bartkowski-Miller
Krug-Trotman
Marchand-Bergeron-Smith
Paille/Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson
Kelly/Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Chara-Boychuk
Bartkowski-Miller
Krug-Trotman
Team Stats
Team: My bias self tells me the Habs suck. And then their stats tell me that.. oh look! The Habs actually do suck! The Habs are coming into this game after their first win in 5 games against the Hurricanes, which isn't very hard to do. If that doesn't seem that bad, they're 4-6 in their last ten games. They're fourth in the Atlantic division with 61 points, a full ten points behind the Bruins. They have -3 goal differential with an average of 2.47 GA/game (10th overall) and 2.42 GF/game (24th overall). Their powerplay stands at 16th with a 18.9% conversion rate while their penalty kill 3rd in the league with a 85.7% success rate.
Players: It's obvious by looking at the player stats that this team is struggling offensively. They've only scored 8 goals in their last 5 games while allowing 19 goals against them in that time span. 15 of their guys have negative ratings ranging from Murrays -13 to Moen's -1. The others range from even to Plekanec's +6. Everyone's favorite diving, crying turtle P.K. Subban leads the team with 36 points while Paccioretty leads the team with 22 goals. Compared to the Bruins, these stats are absolutely terrible.
Goalie: It's safe to assume that Carey Price will get the start tonight. He's played in 43 games with a record of 23-16-4. He's got 2.44 GAA (30th overall) and a .921 SV% (21st overall).
Of Note: Brendan Gallagher and David Desharnais have five points in their last 6 games.
Players: It's obvious by looking at the player stats that this team is struggling offensively. They've only scored 8 goals in their last 5 games while allowing 19 goals against them in that time span. 15 of their guys have negative ratings ranging from Murrays -13 to Moen's -1. The others range from even to Plekanec's +6. Everyone's favorite diving, crying turtle P.K. Subban leads the team with 36 points while Paccioretty leads the team with 22 goals. Compared to the Bruins, these stats are absolutely terrible.
Goalie: It's safe to assume that Carey Price will get the start tonight. He's played in 43 games with a record of 23-16-4. He's got 2.44 GAA (30th overall) and a .921 SV% (21st overall).
Of Note: Brendan Gallagher and David Desharnais have five points in their last 6 games.
Team: The Bruins are on a hot streak right now and should honestly not have as much trouble with the Habs tonight as we've had in the past. We're coming into this game on a four game winning streak after beating the Panthers 6-2. We're of course still first in Atlantic Division with 71 points. We now have a +44 goal differential with an average of 2.15 GA/game (2nd in the league still) and an improved average of 3.04 GF/game (5th in the league). Our penalty kill isn't going to be much of a concern this game since the Canadiens are struggling with their power play work but our kill has an 82.6% success rate(13th overall). Our power play might need to step up a little bit though despite it having a 20.3% conversion rate (7th overall).
Players: 19 of our guys have positive ratings ranging from Miller's +3 to Bergeron's +24. The others range from even to Soderberg's -2. Krejci still leads the team with 45 points (28th in the league) while Reilly Smith leads the team with 18 goals (36th in the league).
Goalie: Tuukka Rask will get the start tonight. He's played in 40 games with an 24-12-3 record. He has a 2.07 GAA (15th in the league) and a .930 SV% (10th in the league).
Of Note: Our second line has been on fire lately and has a combined 14 goals and 15 assists in the past 7 games.
Players: 19 of our guys have positive ratings ranging from Miller's +3 to Bergeron's +24. The others range from even to Soderberg's -2. Krejci still leads the team with 45 points (28th in the league) while Reilly Smith leads the team with 18 goals (36th in the league).
Goalie: Tuukka Rask will get the start tonight. He's played in 40 games with an 24-12-3 record. He has a 2.07 GAA (15th in the league) and a .930 SV% (10th in the league).
Of Note: Our second line has been on fire lately and has a combined 14 goals and 15 assists in the past 7 games.
Score Prediction: 4-2 Bruins Win
Tonight's game is of course going to be an interesting one, especially since this is the first game against the Habs that we play at home this season. Everyone knows we're going to see some diving, some crying and some whining Habs fans asking for imagined penalties. We might hear some boos everytime Paccioretty touches the puck and maybe, just maybe, some Brad Marchand shenanigans and some fantastic Bruins domination. All in all, we should be excited.
Until after the game,
Keep Calm and Bergeron!
Until after the game,
Keep Calm and Bergeron!