Can the Bruins Go Two Up Against Leafs?

The Boston Bruins took Game one over the Toronto Maple Leafs and are looking to go for win number two. The B’s played a full 60-minutes Wednesday and came out on top 4-1. It was the first time in a while that all four lines of the Bruins stepped up and the win displayed that. While it looked like a complete domination against Toronto, I’m not counting them out.

Tonight the game will end with the B’s being up by 2 games and carrying the momentum that goes with that or the Maple Leafs tying up the series.

(Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruins Change It Up:
With Andrew Ference being suspended for tonight’s game, the Bruins have no choice but to change up their defensive pairings that were so successful Wednesday night. Ference is a player that isn’t afraid to make his presence known against any team and Coach Claude Julien has the job of putting someone in his place that will take on that responsibility. So tonight either Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski, or Aaron Johnson will be back in the lineup in place of Ference. If I’m betting on this, I think Dougie will make his NHL playoff debut as he is the one out of the three who has had the most ice team this season. Also in terms of defense, Adam McQuaid was paired with Zdeno Chara at yesterdays practice which means Quaider could be potentially facing off against Toronto’s top line tonight.

Another thing to note is Wednesday Rich Peverley was a healthy scratch for the forwards so there’s a chance he’ll jump back into the lineup as well.

Toronto Takes a Step Back:
It’s no secret that the Maple Leaf’s didn’t leave Game One feeling like they gave it their all. They were out shot 40-20 and simply outplayed. But that game is in the past now and they Leafs are looking to make a comeback tonight. Most of the Toronto players are newbies when it comes to playoffs and the team has said that those nerves have been shaken off and their ready for Game Two.

The Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Mike Kostka after he broke his finger in the second period of Game One. Either Ryan O’Byrne or Jake Gardiner will be added into the lineup for Game 2. Also, expect to see some line changes for the Maple Leafs.

Bergeron Line FTW:
It’s no coincidence that every time Phil Kessel was on the ice with his line, the Patrice Bergeron line was also there. Bergeron along with Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand have been one of the B’s most consistent lines all season and they continued that pressure in Game One. Kessel, who lead Toronto with 20 goals and 52 points during the regular season was limited to just one shot in under 14 minutes of ice time on Wednesday. Bergeron, who is easily one of the best two-way players in the league, can be blamed for that.

Who’s Hot?
Boston players Milan Lucic and David Krecji. Looch has one goal and five points in the past three games, while Krejci has two goals and five points in four games. Krejci was the player of the game for the Bruins and was sporting their “player of the game Army Ranger’s jacket” after the game.

Expect Tuukka Rask to get the start for the Bruins as he was nothing but solid Wednesday night.

Puck drops TONIGHT at 7pm and you can check it out on NESN!

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Bruins/Leafs Game One: Leggo!

So playoffs are here and obviously I’m super excited hence the “leggo” in the title. With such a speedy shortened season, we found regular season for the Boston Bruins end Sunday. Well now it’s Wednesday and the quest for Lord Stanley’s cup has officially become. It all starts tonight and it starts against round one opponent the Toronto Maple Leafs. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals LEGGO (yes I’ve now mentioned this word three times).

Boston sits in the fourth seed for the Eastern Conference while Toronto ended up right behind them in fifth. All that separated the teams was a mere five points. Both teams had the opportunity to place higher but they stumbled to the finish of regular season losing more than winning. But it’s playoffs now so that’s all a thing of the past.

Expect Horty to be back in action TONIGHT! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Let it be known that this is the first time since 1974 (14th overall) that both teams have met in Stanley Cup Playoffs aka this is a pretty big deal. I’m talking Original Six rivalry big deal!

Redemption Time:
Remember that time the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago? That was pretty great…no that was amazing. Remember that time they lost in the Quarterfinals to the Washington Capitals last season? Yeah, not so great. The Bruins are looking to go much further in the playoffs like Stanley Cup Finals further. But to do so they need to put the regular season slump in the past and rely on Bruins hockey to go the distance.

Toronto on the other hand is in the playoffs for the first time since the 2004 playoffs. They were eliminated that year second round thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s nine years of no playoffs aka I expect the Maple Leafs will be hungry for victory with Boston being the first victim.

THANK YOU KESSEL!
Expect to hear this said quite often this week Maple Leaf’s fans. Sorry I’m not sorry in advance! One of the obvious key points in this match up will be former B’s player Phil Kessel and current B’s player Tyler Seguin. Let me refresh your memory in case you forgot. Back in September of 2009, Kessel was traded to Toronto for three draft choices, two of whom turned out to be first-rounders. Those first rounders are Seggy and rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, both of which have been key for the Bruins this season. In 16 games against Toronto, Seguin has 10 goals and six assists. Expect to see plenty of Kessel related signs in the TD Garden tonight and through out the series.

It’s Officially Tuukka Time:
Back in 2011, Tim Thomas was a playoff goalie god for the Bruins while Tuukka Rask was backup chillen. With Thomas out of the picture, it’s Rask in position number one for the B’s, and needless to say he has big shoes to fill. His regular season record is Vezina worthy for sure (check out my nominee preview today on Intermission Report), and I think he’ll be reliable tonight and for the rest of the playoffs for the Bruins. In his last 14 games, he hasn’t allowed more than two goals more than six times. In regular season he finished with a .929 save percentage and 5 shutouts.

Key Players Return:
Both teams will be getting some pretty necessary key scorers back from injury. For Boston, it’s Nathan Horton who has missed the past five-games with an upper body injury. Horton as we all remember was clutch for the Bruins in their 2011 Stanley Cup run and I have no doubt that he will be just as influential this time around. Jaromir Jagr should also be back in action for the B’s after missing both games this past weekend with flu-like symptoms. Jagr, the ever so amazing veteran, has been an ideal offensive fit for the B’s and should be extra beneficial during the playoffs. Toronto will have Tyler Bozak back in action who missed the last two games due to an upper body injury. Bozak finished his season with the Leafs with 12 goals and 16 assists

So tonight is Game one and with Boston having the home-ice advantage, it’s being played at the TD Garden!

Here’s a look at the rest of the schedule (so you can play your life around it like me!):
Game 2 @ Boston: Saturday May 4, 7:00pm
Game 3 @ Toronto: Monday May 6, 7:00pm
Game 4 @ Toronto: Wednesday May 8, 7:00pm
Game 5 @ Boston: Friday May 10, 7:00pm
Game 6 @ Toronto: Sunday May 12 (if needed)
Game 7 @ Boston: Monday May 13 (if needed)

Puck drops at 7pm TONIGHT and you can check out the game on NESN!
BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Boston Bruins Season Awards

Patrice Bergeron (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight prior to the start of the Bruins game they announced the winners for the Eddie Shore, Elizabeth Dufresne, John Bucyk and Three Stars Awards. 

The Eddie Shore Award is given to the player that shows exceptional hustle and determination throughout the duration of the season. It almost goes without saying that the recipient of this award for the 2013 season is Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron has once again been an integral part of the Bruins team and without his stellar faceoff percentage and offensive prowess, the Bruins wouldn’t be in the playoffs.

The next award given was the Elizabeth Dufresne, given to the player who was the most outstanding player at home throughout the season. Once again, Patrice Bergeron was called upon. His home-ice statistics for this season: 8 goals, 13 assists, +20 rating in 20 games. He averaged 14:26 of ice time and took 419 faceoffs, winning 280 of them for a 66.8% overall. There was also a $25,000 donation made to the OneFund Boston Foundation with this award.

The recipient of the John Bucyk Award is awarded to the player for outstanding service in the community along with a $1,000 donation to a charity of the players’ choice. This year’s recipient for his contributions to charitable endeavors, Gregory Campbell.

Last but not least came the Three Stars Awards, given to the team’s top three performers of the season that  contributed most to team’s success throughout the year. Star #3 of the year went to Tyler Seguin who ranked 4th on the team in points and second in goals with 32 and 16 respectively. Star #2, Patrice Bergeron who by the end of tonight’s game will have locked up #1 with his faceoff percentage for best in the league. The Boston Bruins #1 Star of the season, Tuukka Rask, earning himself 5th in the National Hockey League with his 1.97 goals against average and a save percentage of .930 ranking him 3rd in the league.

Earlier this week the team also announced this year’s 7th Player Award recipient, being awarded to Bruins rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, a player who fans voted exceeded the expectations set for him this season.

There’s only one trophy left for the Bruins to win and after tonight’s game, they have to play their hearts out and bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston. We are after all, BOSTON STRONG.

 

Bruins Shut Out Panthers; Snap Losing Streak

Today the Boston Bruins took to the ice against the Florida Panthers with one thing in mind: picking up a win. As the season comes to a close, the Bruins have been less than stellar lately. Whether it be because of emotion or injury, it was time for the B’s to get back on track. Today they looked to end their four-game losing streak while the Panthers are looking to preventing losing four of four on their roadtrip.  Tuukka Rask would start his second game in two days opposite the Panthers Jacob Markstrom. 

Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid would both be out of lineup with injuries, meaning Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton would make their way back in.

Rask earned the shutout today! (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

It took only 3 minutes and 3 seconds into the first period for the Bruins to get the first goal of the game. Jaromir Jagr would score his second goal as a Bruin with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg getting the assists. Jagr has two goals and six assists in just nine games with the black and gold. And lets not forget that Soderbergs assist was his NHL point. I have a feeling that’s the first of many. That would be the lone goal of the first period but it was clear that the B’s knew they needed to come out of this game with two points. Also, I would like to point out that Rask was playing yet another solid game stopping all seven shots on net.

Second period came around with the B’s fighting off the remainder of a Rich Peverley slashing penalty. Florida would be unable to get any goals past Rask and we would be back to an even game. The Bruins would get a chance to go on the power play and though they wouldn’t register any goals, they did get many shots on net. 8 minutes into the second the B’s were outshooting the Panthers 10-1. With 6:27 left in the period Dougie Hamilton would score his fifth of the season with a drive from the right point that was a thing of beauty. That goal would not have happened without Shawn Thornton on the assist keeping that puck in the offensive zone the entire time.

Coming into the third it should be noted that the B’s are 14-2-2 with a two-goal lead going into the final period. With 1:22 remaining in the game, the Bruins sealed the win with an empty net goal from Brad Marchand assisted by his lineys Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron. Marchand leads the team with 18 goals. And with that the Bruins snap their losing streak. Rask earned his 15th career shutout with 28 saves today.

The three stars of the game are 1. Rask, 2. Jagr, 3. Hamilton.

After the game the Bruins took part in their annual “shirts of their back” ceremony. The jerseys usually go to season ticket holders. Hower with recent events, the ticket holders opted for their jerseys to go to first responders that helped during the Marathon bombings and all of the events that took place in Boston this past week. This ceremony was truly inspiring and is further reason why I love my Boston Bruins!

B’s are back in action Tuesday night in Philly against the Flyers.

 

Bruins/Penguins Eastern Conference Showdown

So the Boston Bruins didn’t win the Jarome Iginla signing, but tonight they’ll face off against him and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the TD Garden with two points on the line. The Bruins have recently joined the Pens in the Eastern Conference Playoffs but are still trying to fight off the Montreal Canadiens for first in the Northeast Division. This is the last time the two teams will meet in regular season this year. However there is a chance they could have a rematch come playoff time.

Brad Marchand rejoined the B’s following a concussion (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruins Refocused:
Naturally playing Wednesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was tough for the Bruins as it was the first major sports event in Boston since the Marathon bombing. Emotions were high for players and fans alike but the B’s weren’t able to pick up the win after a come from behind win from Buffalo. You can bet tonight they will be more focused on picking up a win especially since Pittsburgh has won the past two games this season. In their last three the B’s have been winless BUT they have recently regained two key players back into the lineup by the names of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. They reunited with their linemate Tyler Seguin and the three seemed like they were never apart.

Penguins Powering Through Injury:
Despite being without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are well on their way to securing the Eastern Conference title. They have won five in a row and a win tonight against the Bruins would take away the B’s chance of top stop of the Eastern Conference. As of right now the Penguins are four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the top overall seed in all the teams.

Looch Out?
In practice yesterday, Claude Julien had Milan Lucic practicing on the fifth line meaning there’s a chance he’ll be a healthy scratch tonight. This should be no surprise to anyone watching this season as Looch has slipped tremendously and isn’t his usual gritty self. If Lucic is scratch it’s expected that newly acquired Swedish prospect Carl Soderberg will get the start. If that is the case it will be Soderberg’s Bruins debut.

Puck drops at 7pm and you can check out all the action on NESN!

*Both teams will be wearing jerseys that have “617” and “Boston Strong” patches that will be auctioned off for One Fund Boston.

Bruins Blow By Hurricanes

 

After losing to rival Montreal, the Boston Bruins knew they would have to come out on top against the Carolina Hurricanes. With so few games remaining in the season, the B’s are so close to clinching the playoff’s but to do so they need wins. Chris Kelly would return to the lineup the featured some player swapping. Tyler Seguin would move to the third line with Kelly while Gregory Campbell would center the second line.

Tuukka Rask would get the start opposite the Canes Jusitn Peters.

Two goals tonight for Marchand! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The first period would kick off with Rich Peverley ending his 10-game goalless streak with a goal at 3:51. Pevs was able to get passed Peters with the wraparound goal with the assists going to Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference. Four minutes later Brad Marchand would notch his 15th goal of the season thanks to a perfect set up from his linemates Campbell and Jaromir Jagr. With that Justin Peters would be pulled after allowing two goals on four shots and  Dan Ellias would step up in net. Marchy wasn’t done for the period  because with 2:40 to go in the period he would score. Jagr and Seidenberg would each get assists on that. This is Marchand’s 8th career two goal game.

Second period would start just like the first did with a Bruins goal! This time it was Andrew Ference with his third of season. Seids and Soupy would get the assists on that review goal. This would be the third assist for Seidenberg and his first three point game as a Bruin. Just so we’re keeping track the Bruins are now up 4-0 against Carolina. Halfway through the second, Jordan Caron would make it a five goal lead with his first goal of the season. Caron’s liney’s Peverley and Shawn Thornton would get the assists for that beauty of a goal. With 21 shots on goal thus far, the B’s have scored five. Carolina has 30 shots on net but none managed to get past Rask. Tonight marks first four-goal and five-goal leads this season for Boston.

Third period wasn’t as exciting. In fact it dragged quite a bit. It dragged just like Eric Staal’s skate when he tried to kick in a goal with 10ish minutes remaining. Pretty sure that just added to the Canes frustrations BUT they would score at 10:03 thanks to a goal from Patrick Dwyer, his seventh of the season. So it wouldn’t be a shutout for Rask. 45 seconds later Drayson Bowman would score making this a 5-2 game. With 3:04 remaining, the Bruins would find the back of the net yet again with Dougie Hamilton setting up Nathan Horton for his 13th of the season. The Bruins now have six goals and this is the most they’ve scored in a game all season. Milan Lucic would also get an assist on that.

Now the Bruins won and that’s great but there are a few things that they need to work on. Rask may have stopped 40-of-42 shots but he shouldn’t have to face that many if the defense was doing their job. And I think it’s best that I don’t speak of our ever terrible power play.

Hey a win is a win and the Bruins have proved that on home ice they do pretty well. The boys are back in action Wednesday in New Jersey to take on the Devils.

 

Bruins Battle Canadiens for First

As with every meeting these teams have had this season at the end of tonights game, either the Boston Bruins or the Montreal Canadiens will be number one in the Northeast division. Because this is the last meeting in regular season between the teams and the season is nearly over, tonight is important. Currently the Canadiens are in first with 53 points but the Bruins are right behind them with 52 points (Montreal also has an extra game on the B’s). This race for first just adds a little flame to one of the NHL’s most heated rivalries.

Could Chris Kelly be back in the lineup tonight? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

B’s look for four in a row:
The Bruins are coming off of a shutout win Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils and are looking to carry that momentum on over to this game. It was Jaromir Jagr in his black and gold debut that would score the lone goal of the game and though it wasn’t pretty, it was a win. This will be Jagr’s second game for the Bruins skating on a very “youthful” line with Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand. This line has the potential to leave its mark in Montreal tonight. Tonight will also mark the Bruins debut of Wade Redden on defense.

Canadiens feeling the pressure:
Tonights game will be Montreal’s fifth game in seven days. However that hasn’t stopped them from losing first place. In fact you could say they’re very comfortable there. Prior to Friday’s game, Montreal was fourth in the League in goals per game (3.11). They have built up solid consistency that they are looking to maintain. Let’s not forget that Montreal has beaten the Bruins two out of three games thus far, which each game being decided by one goal. They are looking to take three out of four from the B’s this season.

Back so soon?
Both the Bruins and the Habs have crucial day-to-day injuries that could make a difference come game time. Chris Kelly isn’t ruled out for tonight’s game though the odds are he’ll sit it out. However it’s definitely progress that Kelly will be making his way back into the lineup soon. On Montreal’s end they could be without Tomas Plekanec, who missed Thursday’s game with a groin injury. Plekanec leads Montreal in with a goal and four assists in three games against the Bruins this season so it could be Boston advantage if he wasn’t playing.

Puck drops at 7pm tonight and you can catch the game on NESN! I’m not just saying this when I say this is a must see game.

Boston Bruins Oust Ottawa For Second Win

(Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Boston Bruins kept their win streak alive as they earned themselves their fourth-straight victory against the Senators this season and second consecutive victory since March 14-16.  While it is easy to jump to conclusions and say the worst is behind us, the fact of the matter remains that despite having two consecutive wins, there are still errors that need to be improved on.

For instance, the Bruins once again gave up the first goal of the game. However, they managed to get the goal back less than a minute later with a slapshot coming from the point from Zdeno Chara that David Krejci would get his hip on to direct it just enough to go past Robin Lehner. The bounce back was and is definitely an improvement and skate in the right direction.  If that wasn’t enough to convince you that the Bruins were serious and commited to righting their previous months wrongs, the next goal would. Exactly 61 seconds after David Krejci hip-checked the puck past Lehner, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand teamed up for a beautiful set up that left Seguin with a wide open net to shoot into for a one-goal lead half way into the first period.

Patrice Bergeron found a way to beat Robin Lehner as well in the opening frame, but unfortunately the Senators defenseman was in the way and prohibited the netminder from being able to make an accurate save thus cancelling out the goal. While it was a slight buzz kill, the Bruins couldn’t complain about teir first period domination and went into the locker rooms with over 20 shots on net (more than they had in their previous two games after 60 minutes of play) and a one-goal advantage.

The second period provided each team with golden opportunities and a combined 65 shots on net through forty minutes of play, the Bruins pacing themselves for most shots on goal in a game since March 2010 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  While both teams battled through the middle frame the score remained the same heading into the final period, the Bruins needing to find their way without top center-man Patrice bergeron who took an elbow to the head in a battle by the net and did not return.

As the puck dropped to commence the third and final period, the Senators put Anton Khudobin to work. At 1:55 Khudobin sprawled from one end of the net to the other in a Tim Thomas-like fashion and made what looked to the naked eye, a spectacular save. Upon review however after play had since been stopped, it was deemed that the puck had crossed the goal line and hit the back of the net then bounced out, giving the Senators the game-tying goal very early on.

Through the remaining eighteen minutes the Bruins paced the Senators, tallying shot after shot against Robin Lehner, the defense taking away almost every opportunity the Sens attempted. Shortly after a resounding open-ice hit from Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic was able to get the puck up to Nathan Horton who heard a loud Woo! from the audience as he lit the lamp and reinstated the Bruins one-goal lead with under ten minutes remaining in regulation. Despite Johnny Boychuk heading to the box in the final 32 seconds of the period for interference and the Senators pulling Lehner for the extra attacker, providing a 6-on-4 opportunity, the Bruins held on. In the first game in a long time the Bruins provided a solidified sixty minute effort and battled their way to victory.

Their next game is scheduled for Thursday where ‘newcomer’ Jaromir Jagr is expected to make his debut in the Black and Gold. The Bruins face off against the New Jersey Devils in hopes of earning another much needed two points in the standings and their third straight victory.

Two U’s, Two K’s, Two Much Needed Points

There was one thing on the Boston Bruins minds tonight when they took on the Toronto Maple Leafs: revenge. With 18 games remaining in the Bruins season, every game is equally important. Especially when riding the coattails of the first place team (Montreal Canadiens).

Tonight the Bruins had a chance to take two points at home and tie for the Northeast division title. Obviously taking two points away from a fellow Northeast division team is important but tonight they’re looking to take them from a team that beat them Saturday night.  In net would be Tuukka Rask  against James Reimer. Rask was put into the game on Saturday after Anton Khudobin was pulled but there’s no doubt that he’ll be ready to go.

Bergeron would get the shoot out win! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The first period was scoreless so the second period both teams looked to get on the board fast. Unfortunately it was the Maple Leafs who would draw the first goal. It would be a power play goal due to a “interference” call on Aaron Johnson. Quotes were needed for that one because that call was very so so if you ask me. Anyway Joffery Lupul in his first game back from suspension would get his fourth of the year. Within the 12 minute mark, the Leafs would go up 2-0 on a breakaway goal from Nikolai Kulemin.  With 9:49 to go Milan Lucic would score his first goal in 16 games, with the assists going to Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron.

We entered the third with the Maple Leafs up by 1 and it would stay that way for a bit. That is until Patrice Bergeron got the puck off of assists from Dougie Hamilton and Brad Marchand at 10:36. And now friend we would have a tied game. As the game went on so did the physicality, mostly after whistles. Most notably was a scrum that would result in a four-on-four with Andrew Ference and Dion Phaneuf.  Regulation would end in a tie.

Overtime would come and go with both teams getting their chances. The game would come down to a shoot out. At this moment I am proud of the B’s for coming back and tying up the game. We’ve been waiting for the slump to end and I think  this game served as a wake up call.

Here’s how the shootout went:
Tyler Seguin : SCORES!
Tyler Bozak : SCORES!
Patrice Bergeron : SCORES!
Nzaem Kadri : MISS
Brad Marchand : MISS
Nikolai Kulemin : MISS

BRUINS WIN!!! Boston is now tied for first in the Northeast division with the Canadiens, which coincidentally is who they will play next.

P.S: thank you Jack Edwards for that beauty of a title!

Bruins Set to Sweep Maple Leafs

Tonight the Bruins are looking for their ninth straight win against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the two teams begin a home and home set. They will face off in Toronto tonight and then meet up again in Boston on Monday. In the first two meetings the Bruins picked up wins and they look to continue that sweep.

The Bruins are coming off a 2-1 victory in Ottawa but it certainly wasn’t an easy game for the boys. Thanks to some stellar goaltending from Anton Khudobin, the B’s managed to escape with two points. Meanwhile the Maple Leafs are looking to bounce back from a 5-4 shootout loss from the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The game took six-rounds of shootouts to decide a victor so needless to say yesterday was probably a well needed day off for the team.

Will Seguin have another good game in Toronto tonight? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruised Bruins:
Yesterday at practice Johnny Boychuk was the latest Bruin to be injured. He was hit by a puck in the right leg and as of now we don’t know if he’ll be playing in the game. The B’s must also be aware because Providence Bruins player Matt Bartkowski was recalled on an emergency basis following the incident. The Bruins are already without Adam McQuaid and Chris Kelly and frankly can’t have any more injuries on their plates are the season rounds the final stretch.

Toronto needs defense:
I don’t know how else to phrase that so there ya go! The Leafs in 8 of their last 11 contests have allowed at least four goals per game and are 1-3-3 in their last seven. They are sixth in the conference and in the Northeast division are 10 points out of first place (Bruins are in second). If they want to pick up a win, they need to work on solid defense.

Tuukka time:
Expect Tuukka Rask to get the start for the B’s tomorrow as he didn’t play in Thursday contest. Toronto has 12 goals in 3 games but don’t expect to see that happen against Rask. Against the team that drafted him,  Rask has a 7-1-0 record with a 1.37 GAA in eight career starts.

Who’s hot:
Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist in the last meeting and has nine goals and five assists  respectively, during the winning streak against the Leafs. On the other side,  Nazem Kadri has three straight multi-point games for the Maple Leafs, totaling two goals and six assists.

Puck drops at 7pm and you can watch the game on NESN!