Thanks to a lifelong rival and arch-nemesis, Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins can now prepare for their next round  opponents: Winter Classic and Conference foes, Philadelphia Flyers.

The No. 6 seed Bruins now have home-ice advantage throughout this series against the Flyers; beginning on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. EST at the TD Garden.

The Bruins HAVE had some luck against the Flyers during the regular season, including the Jan. 1 Winter Classic. Boston posted a 2-1-1 record against Philly and outscored them 11-9 over those four contests.

READ MORE —–>

The Canadiens will enter the TD Garden for the final time this season, as these two Original Six rivals square-off for the fifth of six times this season. The Boston Bruins have a losing 1-1-2 record against Montreal this season, and will next face the Habs on Mar. 13, 2010 — just 11 days from now.

Coming back from the Olympic break, the Canadiens will embark on a four-game road trip tonight, and a total of 14 games in the month of March.

The Bruins have an even longer road ahead of them this month: 16 games in 31 calendar days, including three sets of back-to-back games, and seven consecutive away games in 11 days.

Tonight will also be the 704th lifetime meeting between the two clubs, with Boston holding a 263-331-103-6 overall record. But, the Canadiens have the scoring edge of 2,133-1,860 over the B’s.

[Goaltender comparisons]

Home Team: Boston Bruins: 27-22-11, 65 points, 3rd Northeast Division, 7th Eastern Conference,  13-12-6 at home, 4-3-3 last 10 games.

• 134 man-games lost
• 30th/last with 2.35 goals-for per game
• 4th in the NHL in goals-against, 2.42
• 18.1% on the power play ranks the B’s 18th overall
• 86.0% success rate on the penalty kill is 3rd best in the league

[Update: Patrice Bergeron will not play tonight due to a groin injury]The Bruins are looking for their first five-game win streak since Mar. 22 – Apr. 4, 2009. Tonight will snap a club record 23 days between home games, with their last contest at the TD Garden against the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 6, 2010.

All Bruins player were at the morning skate at the TD Garden except Patrice Bergeron — including Mark Stuart [finger] and Johnny Boychuk [orbital bone], both of who should be available, and playing tonight.

Away Team: Montreal Canadiens: 29-28-6, 64 points, 4th Northeast Division, 8th Eastern Conference, 14-15-2 away, 4-5-1 last 10 games.

• 212 man-games lost due to injuries
• 25th with 2.52 goals-for per game
• 15th in the NHL in goals-against, 2.72 per
• 24.6% on the power play ranks the Habs 2nd overall
• 83.5% success rate on the penalty kill in 7th best in the league

Jacques Martin said Carey Price is expected to get the nod between the pipes tonight for the Canadiens.

From HabsInsideOut: “Benoit Pouliot and Andrei Kostitsyn should be in the lineup after missing time before the break with injuries, and Andrei Markov will be back on the blue line for the Canadiens.” Marc-Andre Bergeron [lower body] and Mike Cammalleri [right MCL] remain on the IR; Paul Mara day-to-day [upper body].

	Team Comparisons
25-21-11, 61 points	Overall record	24-27-9, 57 points
3-4-3	Last 10 games	3-6-1
4th Northeast	Division	4th Southeasy
8th, Eastern	Conference	12th, Eastern
2.36 [30th]	Goals-for	2.47 [26th]
2.42 [5th]	Goals-against	2.78 [17th]
18.2% [15th]	Power Play	15.2% [30th]
86.3% [1st]	Penalty Kill	79.7% [24th]
31.1 [10th]	Shots on Goal	28.4 [28th]

Home team: Florida Panthers 12-11-6 at home
From my good friend Donny Rivette – the founder and managing editor of LitterBoxCats.com on SBNation. Be sure to check Donny out there and follow him on Twitter.

Trying to ascertain just who would be the core of Florida Panthers going into tonight’s game as of Friday morning was looking to be an exercise in futility. Call-ups, team meetings, letters from ownership, and cancelled practices all conspired to pave the way for a flurry of player acquisitions and roster turnover before the Olympic trade “freeze” of 3pm. Alas, cooler heads prevailed, at least from a management perspective, and no shotgun moves were made simply to please the weary-eyed Florida fanbase. Other than dealing UFA forward Dominic Moore to Montreal for a second-round pick in 2011 on Thursday, nothing further ensued. Rest assured there will be others once the freeze is lifted.

Going into Saturday’s match in Sunrise, the Bruins will face a Cats squad which has no definable identity; even the general manager has made it crystal clear that no one on the roster is safe, though it’s reasonable to assume winger David Booth won’t be looking over his shoulder. This is essentially the same club Boston faced in South Florida on December 27th, when the Bruins picked up a 2-1 win against netminder Scott Clemmensen. For the record, “Clemmer” hasn’t appeared in a game since, as Tomas Vokoun has been the Cats’ goaltender for every second of action from that time forward. Booth is back to the lineup as well, but has had little luck on the scoresheet after returning January 31st (6gp, 2a, -2). Then again, no one is scoring for this club, which has netted just 13 goals over the last 12 games. Needless to say, the eighth spot in the East has drifted to the distant horizon. Not an impossible task, but certainly improbable.

What to expect? The Panthers were shutout by Roberto Luongo’s Canucks Thursday, and Vancouver by no means played a perfect 60 minutes. But it was good enough to snuff out whatever life the Cats may have still possessed; Vokoun, understandably, was not pleased with the outcome. Has any member of the organization given more to win in the past three seasons than T-Vo? A hot name on the trade market, Vokoun has a NTC but spoke recently of waiving it under the right circumstances. Whether Florida can muster up enough energy to out-muscle the Bruins is debatable: after the speeches, meetings, and angry letters – not to mention the current five game losing streak – this bunch is toast, mentally. If Vokoun starts – and as a favor to him and his Olympic obligations, he may not – plan for a low-scoring evening, but there’s no reason to believe the Panthers have turned the corner on their collective scoring woes. We’ve got a ways to go before that. At least the rebuild is underway.

As for lines, who knows? Coach Peter DeBoer is fond of changing things up on a dime, and the surreal lame-duck status of the team makes experimentation entirely within the realm of possibility. Other than Booth-Stephen Weiss-Michael Frolik making up the first unit, all bets are off. Keep in mind this may be a final audition, so to speak, for many on the Panthers’ payroll. And it’s about time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday – 7:30pm EST at St. Pete Times Forum – will mark the 65th meeting between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in their lifetime series.The Bruins hold a 39-16-9-0 record over the Lightning, and a 216-166 scoring edge.

The Bruins visit the Lightning for the third of four games between these two teams this season. Boston took the first match, 4-1 at the TD Garden on Dec. 2. Tim Thomas made 39 of 40 saves for the W, as Mike Smith stopped 35 of 39 shots that came his way.Tampa Bay took the second game, at home 2-1, in the same goaltending dual. Thomas kicked-aside 37 of 39 Lightning shots; while at the other end of the ice, Smith was near perfect with 31 saves on 32 shots against. Unfortunately, these two net-minders won’t be able to settle the score, as Nittymaki and Rask and sure to get the nods on Thursday.

The Lightning will be looking for their first five-game winning-streak since Nov. 2007, while the Bruins look for their first three-game-streak since Dec. 21 – 27 of this season. These two Eastern Conference squads are neck-and-neck in the standings – and with just two games remaining before the Olympic break – these two-points on Thursday night are immense for both teams.

Home Team: Tampa Bay Lightning (26-21-11, 63 points 2nd Southeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 17-6-6 at home, 7-2-1 last 10)

• 20th with 2.55 goals-for per game
• 2.71 goals-against ranks the Lightning 18th overall
• 9th in the NHL with a 19.2% rate on the power play
• 22nd in the league with an 80.0% success rate on the penalty kill

Nutz and Boltz By: TB Lightning Examiner, Althea Pashman:
Goalies don’t get much hotter than Antero Niittymaki is right now. He’s won four straight starts and seven of his last eight, with one overtime loss mixed in to improve his season record to 16-9-5. Lightning goaltenders have allowed a league-best mark of 59 goals at home and have put up good individual numbers as well. Mike Smith is 7-3-3 at home this year with a .930 SV% and a 2.14 GAA, while Antero Niittymaki is 10-3-3 at home with a .944 SV% and a 1.75 GAA.

The Lightning are 10-1-2 in their last 13 games at the St. Pete Times Forum and has outscored their opponents 37-22 in those contests. The team’s 17 wins at home come in 7th place in the NHL and they hold the league’s 3rd-best mark along with Minnesota, Chicago, and Dallas for the least amount of losses at home with 6, behind leaders San Jose (5) and Washington (3).

Feb. 11 lineups:
Steve Downie-Steven Stamkos-Marty St. Louis
Stephane Veilleux-Vinny Lecavalier-Alex Tanguay
Ryan Malone-Nate Thompson-Jeff Halpern
Todd Fedoruk-Zenon Konopka-Kurtis Foster

Mike Lundin- Mattias Ohlund
Victor Hedman- Andrej Meszaros
Matt Walker- Matt Smaby
Kurtis Foster

Antero Niittymaki
Mike Smith

PP1: Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, Kurtis Foster, Andrej Meszaros
PP2: Ryan Malone, Alex Tanguay, Jeff Halpern, Steve Downie, Victor Hedman
IR: David Hale (Broken Leg)

Antero Niittymaki: Has posted a 7-0-1 record in his past eight games, including a .965 save percentage and a 1.09 GAA
Steven Stamkos: Netted his team-high 33rd goal against Vancouver on Tuesday night and league tying 14th power-play goal. Has a career-high 10 game streak going 8-7-15 during this span, with 11 points in his last seven games.
Martin St. Louis: 7-4-11 in his last seven contests. Riding a seven games point streak and has collected at least a point in 10 of the last 11 contests
Steve Downie: 0-7-7 in his last seven contests, currently riding a five game point streak (0-5-5)

“We’re just getting great plays from him [Niittymaki] and Marty and Stamkos scoring every game, said Rick Tocchet. I’ve got to give credit to the Thompson line. They shut down the twins [Henrik and Daniel Sedin] pretty good tonight. Halpy and Bugsy [Halpern and Malone] did a nice job. Obviously Niitty’s definitely earned his keep. He’s playing really good for us right now.”

“As long as you are winning,” Rick Tocchet said of the three-man winning formula. “We’re putting the finger in the dikes right now, and I just hope we get some other people scoring before it dampers. But you know, we’re winning games. That’s just the way it is. You’ve got to be excited about that, and other teams go through it, you line up a couple of hot guys and you go with it.”

“We’re finding a way. Like I said, the reason for that is Niitty [goaltender Antero Niittymaki]. We know we have to play better in front of him, but we’re finding ways to get goals at key times. You can’t dissect it too much. We look at some clips and try to get better, but we’re finding a way right now and that’s the most important thing at this time of the year,” said Marty St. Louis on the Lightning’s 7-1-1 record despite scoring just 22 goals during this span.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight – at 7:00pm EST at the HSBC Arena – will mark the 276th all-time meeting between the Boston Bruins and the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins hold a 112-102-29-5 record over the Sabres, but Buffalo edging out Boston in the scoring department, 808-803.

The Black-and-Gold will be looking for back-to-back victories tonight for the first time since Dec. 30 – Jan. 1. Meanwhile the Sabres have lost four in a row – which ties their season-high. This will be the fourth of six meetings betweent these two Northeast Division rivals. Boston has the 2-1-0 edge thus far with a 7-5 scoring advantage.

Home Team: Buffalo Sabres (32-18-7, 71 points, 1^st Northeast Division, 3^rd Eastern Conference, 18-7-5 at home, 2-7-1 last 10)

• 13th with 2.72 goals-for per game
• 2.44 goals-against ranks the Sabres 7th overall
• 17th in the NHL with a 17.7% rate on the power play
• 1st in the league with a 86.8% success rate on the penalty kill

Sabres Edge: “After sitting out as a healthy scratch Saturday in Columbus, rookie Tim Kennedy will be back in the Sabres’ lineup for tonight’s game against Boston in HSBC Arena.”…”Defenseman Steve Montador, who tweaked his hip Saturday, will join Elils and Nathan Paetsch on the scratch list but Ruff said he’s hoping Montador will be available Thursday.

Feb. 06 lineups:

Jochen Hecht – Tim Connolly – Jason Pominville
Thomas Vanek – Derek Roy – Drew Stafford
Clarke MacArthur – Paul Gaustad – Mike Grier
Matt Ellis – Adam Mair – Steve Montador

Henrik Tallinder – Tyler Myers
Toni Lydman – Craig Rivet
Chris Butler – Andrej Sekera

Ryan Miller
Patrick Lalime
Jhonas Enroth

PP1: Tim Connolly, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Tyler Myers, Chris Butler
PP2: Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Paul Gaustad, Craig Rivet, Andrej Sekera

Ryan Miller: is 0-3-0 in his last three starts with a 4.00 goals-against average and a .876 save-percentage
Tim Connolly: is point-less in his last two games, after registering at least one point in 19 of 20 prior.
Thomas Vanek: 2-3-5 in his last five
Jason Pominville: 1-3-4 in his last four contests
Drew Stafford: 2-1-3 in his last four games
Patrick Lalime: [3-3-2, .896 SV%, 3.21 GAA] started Buffalo’s last game between the pipes – a 4-0 shutout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will be facing off for the 703rd time in their lifetime series tonight, 3pm EST, north of the border at the Bell Centre. It is the second-most games played of any two NHL rivals in NHL history. The Black and Gold hold a 262-331-105-4 overall record with Montreal holding a 2,133-1,857 scoring scoring advantage in those games.

These two Original Six rivals will be meeting for the fourth of six total times this season, and the second time in four days. The Bruins are 0-1-2 against the Habs, and have been outscored 10-4 total. The Bruins lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Habs on Thursday night after taking a two-goal lead, as history repeated itself yesterday against the Vancouver Canucks. Boston has now lost its 10th-straight contest and are desperately seeking a two-point victory.

Away Team: Montreal Canadiens (28-25-6, 62 points, 3rd Northeast Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 14-11-4 at home, 5-3-2 last 10 games)

• ranked 24th in the NHL with 2.52 goals-for per game
• 11th in the league with 2.66 goals-against
• 25.0% success rate on the power play ranks the Habs 2nd overall in the NHL
• 7th on the penalty-kill with a 83.7% success rate while short

The Canadiens are seeking their fourth-consecutive victory today, after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 yesterday at the Bell Centre. Jaroslav Halak picked up his 17th win yesterday, so we could see Carey Price between the pipes for the Hans. Price is 2-0-0 against the B’s this season.

Tomas Plekanec: 2-4-6, plus-2, 15 shots on goals in his last four.
Brian Gionta: 2-1-3, minus-1, three shots yesterday against Pittsburgh
Scott Gomez: 1-3-4 through a two-game scoring streak

From Habs Inside/Out:
“The Canadiens were missing two more key players thanks to injuries and played with a fourth line made up of three members of the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. But they found a way to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions 5-3 at the Bell Centre, a third straight win for Montreal. With Benoit Pouliot and Marc-André Bergeron placed on the injured reserve list, David Desharnais, Brock Trotter and Ryan White were called up and played on a line together Saturday, arguably the best one on the ice for either team.”

Also, defenseman Paul Mara remained sidelined in yesterday’s contest, and is still day-to-day. Andrei Kostitsyn and Mike Cammalleri remain on the IR.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Boston Bruins and  Vancouver Canucks will face-off for the 107th time in their lifetime series today, at 1pm, at the TD Garden. The Bruins hold a 67-24-15-0 overall record against the Canucks, with a 431-295 scoring edge. This will be the one and only meeting, in this East vs. West battle, this season. The last time these two teams met was on Oct. 28, 2008 at the General Motors Place – when the Bruins blacked the Canucks, 1-0.

This afternoon will be the Canucks’ fourth stop of their 14-game road trip. The Canucks will not return to Vancouver until after the Olympic break: March 13 against the Ottawa Senators. The Canucks are currently 1-2-0 on their current road trip, including their second-consecutive loss on Thursday night, 3-2  to the Senators. The Canucks could be ripe for the pickin’s for the Bruins, to finally snap their nine-game losing-streak, and eight-straight at home.

Away Team: Vancouver Canucks: 34-20-2 (70 points, 1st Northwest Division, 3rd Western Conference, 11-13-1 on the road, 7-3-0 last 10 games)

• 3rd in the NHL with 3.20 goals-for per game
• 5th in the league in goals-against with 2.43
• 21.9% success rate on the power play ranks the Canucks 5th overall
• 81.6% on the penalty kill for 16th in the NHL

Last 15 games: Line 1
Alex Burrows: 15-7-22, plus-13, 46 shots on goal
Daniel Sedin: 6-17-23, plus-11, 52 shots on goal
Henrik Sedin: 6-19-25, plus-11, 32 shots on goal

Last nine games: Line 3:
Demitra — Wellwood — Bernier = 3-4-7 totals

Injuries:
Willie Mitchell: Concussion
Kevin Bieksa: Lacerated Leg

Line Combinations and D pairings:
Daniel Sedin — Henrik Sedin — Alexandre Burrows
Mason Raymond — Ryan Kesler — Mikael Samuelsson
Pavol Demitra — Kyle Wellwood — Steve Bernier
Rick Rypien — Ryan Johnson — Darcy Hordichuk

Shane O’Brien — Christian Ehrhoff
Sami Salo — Alexander Edler
Aaron Rome — Brad Lukowich

Roberto Luongo
Andrew Raycroft
Cory Schneider

Read the rest of this entry »

In an Original Six matchup tonight at 7pm EST, Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins, the starting goaltenders for tonight:

Tuukka Rask: (23 games played in) 10-7-2, .925 save-percentage, 2.13 goals-against average, 2 shutouts

Jaroslav Halak: (26 games played in) 15-8-2, .929 save-percentage, 2.43 goals-against average, 3 shutouts

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will be facing off for the 702nd time in their lifetime series tonight, 7pm EST, at the TD Garden. It is the second-most games played of any two NHL rivals in NHL history. The Black and Gold hold a 262-331-104-4 overall record with Montreal holding a 2,130-1,855 scoring scoring advantage in those games.

The last time these two Original Six teams met was exactly two months ago – in the second of six meetings – for Montreal’s Centennial game, at the Bell Centre. Boston lost both contests, and are in Dire Straits right now, desperately seeking a two-point victory to snap an eight-game winless streak – while the Habs look to make in two-in-a-row.  Now, two months later, it looks as if these two squads have virtually swapped positions in the standings.

Entering Dec. 4:
Montreal: 12-14-2, 4th in the Division and 12th in the East
Boston: 14-8-5, 2nd in the Northeast Division, 5th in the East

Away Team: Montreal Canadiens (26-25-6, 58 points, 3rd Northeast Division, 7th Eastern Conference, 13-14-2 away, 4-4-2 last 10 games)

• ranked 27th in the NHL with 2.49 goals-for per game
• 13th in the league with 2.67 goals-against
• 25.2% success rate on the power play ranks the Habs 2nd overall in the NHL
• 8th on the penalty-kill with a 83.5% success rate while short

Bruins killer of the season, Mike Cammalleri, suffered a  knee injury when he crashed into the boards during the Saturday Feb. 2 game against  Ottawa. The Canadiens’ leading goal scorer [26-22-48] – who scored the game-winning shootout goal on Nov. 4; and netted a hat-trick on Dec. 5 in victories over the Bruins earlier this season – will be sidelined for the next six-weeks.

After missing three games with an upper-body injury, Habs defenseman Jaroslav Spacek is expected to return tonight. Despite skating yesterday, however, Paul Mara (upper-body), will not. Andrei Kostitsyn [12-13-25 in 40 GP] underwent knee surgery last month and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Carey Price is 2-0-0 against the Bruins this season, but Jaroslav Halak [5-2-2, 2 SO, .907 SV% last nine stars] is expected to get the nod.

Tomas Plekanec: 3-3-6, plus-3, 20 shots on goal in his last five – including a two-game point streak.
Benoit Pouliot: is riding a two-game point streak with 1-2-3 totals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight marks the 127th contest between Boston and Los Angeles in their lifetime series – and second time this season – as the Bruins host the LA Kings at the TD Garden at 7pm EST. The Bruins hold a 78-33-14-1 lifetime record against the Kings while outscoring them 235-220.

These two teams first squared-off exactly two weeks ago at LA’s Staples Center, when the Kings rallied back to beat the B’s 4-3 in a shootout.

Away team: LA Kings (31-19-3, 65 points, 3rd Pacific Division Division, 6th Western Conference, 17-10-1 away, 6-4-0 last 10 games)

The Kings are 4-1-0 since the last meeting with the Bruins on Jan. 16., and 6-1-0 in their last seven. That now makes Los Angeles  just two points away from tying the Phoenix Coyotes [67] for second-place in the Pacific Division – fourth overall in the West – and one-point away from the fifth seed, Colorado Avalanche [65].

• 8th in the NHL in goals-for per game – 2.89
• 13th in the league with 2.72 goals-against average
• 18.5% on the power play for 13th overall
• 24th overall in the NHL with a 79.6% success rate on the penalty kill
• 7th in the league with a team plus-11

Anze Kopitar: 3-4-7, plus-5, 21 shots on goal last five games – and on a four-game point streak.
Drew Doughty: 1-5-6, plus-5, 11 shots in last five – three-game point streak.
Dustin Brown: two-game assist streak, 0-4-4, plus-2 during that span.
Jarret Stoll: two-game point streak, 1-2-3, plus-2 over those two games.
Ryan Smyth: 3-2-5, plus-6, 15 shots on goal in his last five – including a two-game point streak.
Wayne Simmonds: 1-4-5 in his last five games, with a plus-2 and 10 shots on net.
Jonathan Quick has won his last four consecutive starts with a .925 save-percentage.

Home Team: Boston Bruins (23-21-8, 54 points, 12th Eastern Conference, 4th Northeast Division, 13-11-3 at home, 1-8-1 last 10 games)

• 30th/last in the NHL goals-for with 2.35 – nine goals in their last six
• 6th in the league with 2.44 goals-against average – 21 against in their last six
• 17.3% on the power play for 20th overall – 1-for-17 in their last nine games
• 2nd in the NHL with a 87.2% success rate on the penalty kill – successfully killed 33 of their last 38 times short

The Bruins are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night at the HSBC Center, now making it a six-game losing streak – their longest losing streak since Dec. 2007. Despite outshooting the Division-leading Sabres, 31-23, the Bruins came out with maybe a little too much emotion. Having been short-handed three times in the first period, the Bruins would only kill 2-of-3 – the last being the game-winner for Buffalo.

Aside from the penalties early on and and another notch in the “L” column, the Bruins put together a solid effort – puck possession, creating scoring opportunities, along with good defense and goaltending performances.

“Better, unfortunately right now we’re really looking at the end results – and it wasn’t there tonight” Claude Julien said after the game on his team’s performance after four days off. ” Disappointing, but I think our whole game was much better that it has been lately.

“We needed those four days the way we had been playing.” Julien added with the small break entering last night. “So we’ll take those four days as a positive and certainly not use them as an excuse for tonight.”

If the Bruins can put together another effort like they did last night, [while keeping it composed and lighting the lamp a couple more times] there’s a good chance they could put an end to their six-game skid, and the Kings’ four-game streak.