Bruins Look for Series Sweep Against Devils

In the third and final regular season meeting between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils, the B’s currently have the 2-0 lead. Can they go for the third and sweep the Devils? I guess we’ll find out tonight as the B’s head to the dirty Jersey for one last regular season showdown.

(credit: Slidingsideways/ Flickr)

The last time these two teams met up was just six days ago, with Jaromir Jagr making his Bruins debut and managing to score the lone goal of the evening. Anton Khudobin would get the shutout for the B’s and there’s a good chance he’ll nab the start tonight with the B’s playing back to back tonight and tomorrow.

Devils Doomed?
With only 9 games remaining in New Jersey’s schedule, they are currently riding a seven game losing streak. They are currently sitting outside the playoff brackets and are going to have to pull it together if they want a chance to make a run for the Stanley Cup. This is the longest losing streak the Devils have been on since their ’85-’86 season. A big reason for their loses stems from their poor overtime performance this season. They are 2-7 in shootouts this season and with a rushed schedule, now isn’t the time to be losing valuable points (one of those losses comes from the B’s).

B’s back on track?
The Bruins offense certainly stepped it up on Monday with a 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. That was the most goals the B’s have scored in a game this season. The line of Brad Marchand, Jagr and Gregory Campbell combined for two goals and two assists, while Tuukka Rask stopped 40-of-42 shots. However with the offense being on their A-game, it’s time for the B’s defense to step it up. There’s no excuse for why Rask had to stop that many shots. If the Bruins win tonight they will move past the Canadiens and regain first place in the Northeast division.

Who’s hot?
David Clarkson leads the Devils with 13 goals this season and scored their only goal in their most recent loss. Meanwhile, Tuukka time is 3-2-1 in his past six starts with a 2.16 GAA and .921 save percentage.

Injury Report:
B’s will be without Patrice Bergeron (head) and Adam McQuaid (shoulder). The Devils are most likely without Ilya Kovalchuk even though he did practice with the team on Tuesday. This will be Kovalchuks 8th straight missed game.

Puck drops at 7 and you can check out the action on NBCSN for Rivalry Night!

Tuukka Time Takes Down Devils

While the Boston Bruins looked to continue their win streak, the New Jersey Devils were looking to end their losing streak.  With the season winding down, the B’s are trying to get every two points they possibly can in hopes of catching up to the Montreal Canadien’s, who currently lead the Northeast division.

Tonight’s matchup had Tuukka Rask facing Martin Brodeur in net. Rask has had the past two games off and looked to come back with a vengeance and pick up the win for his team.

TUUKKA TIME! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

First period came and went with neither team being able to get passed the goalies. The only thing that really went well for the Bruins in that period was Rask. With the B’s without Patrice Bergeron, they weren’t able to win many faceoffs. Shots on net also heavily favored New Jersey.

The second period opened and the Bruins clearly had some sort of wake up call because it took 1:20 for them to get on board. And who better to get that goal than newly acquired Jaromir Jagr. Jagr made his Bruins debut tonight and boy did he make it known that he was here to play. Credit Jagr’s liney Brad Marchand and Captain Zdeno Chara for the assist on the goal. Welcome to Boston Jagr!

Little did we know at the time that this would be the only goal of the game. The Devils would try and make a comeback but it was unsuccessful against Tuukka time. Rask would make 40 saves in the game and earn his 3rd shutout of the season and 14th shutout as a Boston Bruin. He obviously was the first star of the game, with Jagr getting the second star.

The Bruins are now  24-8-4. They have now won three in a row and will play Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens with first place in the division on the line.

Bruins/Devils Battle for the Points

Tonight’s game would end the point streak of one team and continue the streak of the other. The question was who would get the 2 points and who would come away with their first regulation loss of the season?

Rask was back in net tonight! (Credit: Flickr/Steph Vail)

The answer…neither!

The Bruins are coming off of a win in Carolina last night against the Hurricanes. This would be their first back-to-back game of the season. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils were coming off of a Sunday OT win against the Montreal Canadiens. It would be Tuukka Rask versus Johan Hedberg in net. Rask had the night off last night as Anton Khudobin played in Monday’s game.

Here’s a breakdown of the game by period:

Who Will Keep Their Point Streak, Bruins or Devils?

Hot off of their 5-3 victory in Carolina last night, the Bruins head home to take on the New Jersey Devils. Prior to yesterday’s victory, the Devils and Bruins were tied for first place in the Eastern Conference. With the Bruins victory they have pulled ahead in the standings and once again lead with 9 points on the season, just three shy behind the league leading Chicago Blackhawks who remain undefeated in six games this season.

Dougie Hamilton awaits the puck (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight as the two face off against each other, it will be the first meeting of three for these two teams, the Bruins holding a series sweep against New Jersey last season outscoring them by a wide margin of 18-8. The Bruins and the Devils are the only two teams left in the Eastern Conference who have earned points in all of their games they have played this season. Unless tonight’s game goes into overtime or a shootout, there will only be one by eleven o’clock tonight.

The Devils are coming off of a 4-3 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday evening, a slow start being their worst enemy as they had to play catch up the rest of the night. Despite being able to force overtime, the Devils found themselves on the penalty kill which helped Montreal seal the deal and give the Devils their first loss of the season.

The Bruins are coming off of a failry solid effort against the Hurricanes last night, their major blemish being two-goals scored in a span of 50 seconds at the tail end of the second frame. Aside from that, the Bruins were a strong and united front against Carolina and played the game the way they know how.

“I think we’re playing pretty good hockey,” Krejci said in an interview after the game with NHL Network. “We know it’s a short season so we want to get off to a good start, and we’ve done that, so we just have to keep it going.”

Adam McQuaid ready for face off against the ‘Gold’ team in the Black and Gold scrimmage. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Injury Report: 

New Jersey forward Adam Henrique is still sidelined after undergoing thumb surgery and will not be available for the Devils in tonight’s game.  For the Bruins Jordan Caron is on the injured reserve list, but defenseman Adam McQuaid is expected to be in the line up after missing last night due to personal reasons.

Teach Me How To Dougie: 

Sure the line might be tired by now, but it’s still fun to write. The Bruins rookie is sticking in Boston per Claude Julien yesterday and why wouldn’t he!? In the past three games Dougie has been a key asset to the Boston defensive pairings, setting up the plays of the game. Last night his pass to David Krejci is what helped push the Bruins past the Hurricanes late in the third period. Being paired with the likes of Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and David Krejci, Dougie and the Bruins second line is an unstoppable force, one the New Jersey is going to have a hard time containing.

Live Blogging: Devils @ Bruins

Can Tyler Seguin snap his 14 game scoring drought? (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Bruins take on the New Jersey Devils at 7pm EST.

Based on pre-game warm-ups the lines are going to be:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin

Brian Rolston-Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand

Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Jordan Caron

Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Defensive Pairings:

Zdeno Chara-Andrew Ference

Joe Corvo-Dennis Seidenberg

Adam McQuaid-Greg Zanon

Scratches:Nathan Horton(concussion) Johnny Boychuk(concussion)Mike Mottau(healthy)Rich Peverley(3rd degree MCL sprain)

Goaltenders: Tim Thomas who is 5-3-0 in his last eight starts. For the Devils Martin Brodeur, who is 24-20-9 against Boston.

Bitter Teams Looking To Better Themselves

Bruins looking to bounce back and get the ‘W’ against the Devils. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

“Obviously, I haven’t been here but it’s been .500 hockey right now and [Head Coach Claude Julien] wants to get this thing going,” he said. “We just have to put our best foot forward to give it everything we got these last 21 games.”Greg Zanon post-practice Wednesday morning(via Boston Bruins Website)

And this is exactly what the Bruins are going to need to do if they stand a chance at beating the New Jersey Devils tonight. Boston finished the month of February with a 5-7-1 record, failing to record a point in five of those losses. They are looking to keep from losing their third consecutive loss at home in franchise history as well sweep the series against the Devils winning eight of the last nine matches.

While the Bruins haven’t been able to pick up consecutive wins in the last month, and sit only one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators in the Division, the Devils are struggling just as much. New Jersey is coming off of a  three-game losing streak out of a four-game trip, opening the series with a 2-0 loss to the Rangers.

In goal is expected to be Tim Thomas, who has dominated the Devils, winning six consecutive contests with a 1.17 goals against average. In the three match-ups combined this season he has stopped 92 of the 97 shots faced this season.  In the opposing net Martin Brodeur has allowed nine goals in two losses versus the Bruins, dropping 0-5-1 with 3.31 GAA in his last six meetings in the series.

While defenseman Mike Mottau and forward Brian Rolston made their debut for the Bruins against the Senators Tuesday night, Greg Zanon is expected to make his tonight. He sports 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 39 games played this season, missing a few in the beginning due to injuries. While there was some speculation about the defenseman seen wearing a brace on his wrist in the press box, he assured fans that it was no big deal. He had just gotten a cortisone shot in his elbow. 

There was also word after Wednesday’s practice that defenseman Johnny Boychuk skated on his own and passed a stationary bike test, designed to elevate a person’s heart rate. While the Bruins are treating the injury as a concussion, they are moving forward. Julien said that he is fine with having potentially 8 defensemen and that competition for playing time is a good thing stating;

“If you want to be in the lineup, then play to be in the lineup.” Julien (via @HacksWithHaggs)

If you’re looking for players to watch tonight, you may want to keep your eye on fourth-liner Gregory Campbell who leads the Bruins with 2 goals and 5 points against the Devils. Brad Marchand of course has also been on a role with 3 goals in his last four games, surpassing his rookie statistics of 22 goals. You may also want to keep an eye out for the Devils Petr Sykora who has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last five games.

Tonight’s game is on the New England Sports Network(NESN) at 7:00pm EST. You can also listen to it on 98.5 the Sports Hub.