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B's host Sabres in Hub

December 21, 2014, 7:04 PM ET [12 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Sunday nights at the TD Garden a rarity for the Boston Bruins. It’s a welcomed sight, though, especially after a hot-and-cold three-game road swing that saw the Black and Gold take just three of a possible six points after a Friday night loss in Winnipeg. Like they have for much of the season, the Bruins’ road trip was defined by their shortcomings, even with their ability to steal a point in Nashville and Minnesota.

And in their first Sunday night home game since Mar. 3, 2013, the Bruins will once again shift their focus towards developing some semblance of consistency, especially from their high-end talents.

“I’m going to say that [Patrice] Bergeron’s line last game did not have a good game. They didn’t have many scoring chances. They weren’t that good. They were good the game before. There’s some games they play well and they score some games. That’s the problem with our team is inconsistency in our game,” B’s head coach Claude Julien said earlier today.

“Certain lines, even though you say well Bergeron, [Reilly] Smith and [Brad] Marchand are great players but it doesn’t mean their line is really firing on all cylinders every game. Once we get all our lines being more consistent in that area, we won’t be just saying the goal scoring is coming from the Soderberg line. We need a little bit more and at the same time [David Krejci] has just gotten back. We hope that sooner than later that we’re going to get a little more depth in our scoring.”

In their third of five head-to-head showdowns with the Buffalo Sabres this year, the B’s realize that they need more than one line going on any given night, prompting talk of a potential switch that could put veteran winger Loui Eriksson up on the first line with Krejci and Milan Lucic.

“As I told you the other day [the Soderberg line]’s the only line that’s scoring for us right now, so if you move them do you make two wrongs out of one good? That’s what happens,” Julien noted.

“When we don’t win we get second-guessed. We understand that, but right now [Carl] Soderberg’s line is the only line that’s really scoring for us. So, you guys really want me to break it up so we get no more scoring? Or do you pick your poison?” added the B’s bench boss. “And as much as we like to do that and we try at different times, which I did last game, the few times I put him out there it’s hard to really see when its only in spurts. At the same time I’m trying to win a hockey game here so it’s the bottom line.”

Eriksson has four points in his last six games played (including three goals), and would certainly bring an upgrade to the right wing of a Boston first line that’s been simply brutal to watch this season.

For Buffalo, this is the second leg of a back-to-back that began with last night's 5-1 loss to the Avalanche. The Sabres are 3-4-0 in the second leg of back-to-backs in 2014-15.

The Masked Men: Jhonas Enroth vs. Tuukka Rask


For the second time in as many nights, Buffalo will give the nod to Jhonas Enroth. The 26-year-old took the loss in a Saturday showing against Colorado, stopping 18 of 22 shots against, but has won seven of his last nine starts. The undersized Swede has one win in nine career starts against Boston, along with an ugly .895 save percentage and 3.78 goals against average. Enroth has started both games of Buffalo’s games against the Bruins this year, too, with an 0-1-1 record and .904 save percentage.

Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. In the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) despite a strong .924 save percentage, the 27-year-old brings a career record including six wins and a .923 save percentage in 13 career games against the Sabres. Rask has also won nine of his 15 home starts this year.

Stats of Note


- Gregory Campbell has one point in his last 22 games played (a goal vs. San Jose on Dec. 4).

- Torey Krug has three goals and five points in his last seven games played.

- Patrice Bergeron has nine goals and 31 points in 53 career games against Buffalo.

- Marcus Foligno has three goals and an assist in his last five games.

- Andre Benoit has assists in three of his last four games.

Other news and notes

On a lineup front, Seth Griffith will sit at the healthy scratch up front, while Zach Trotman will serve as the defense's healthy scratch. That puts forward Matt Fraser back into the mix, while Matt Bartkowski skates on the back end.

The B’s made one move yesterday, sending defenseman Joe Morrow back to Providence. Morrow had one goal and a plus-3 rating in 15 games for the Black and Gold this season.

“Right now they felt we needed to send some guys down and we’ve been young on our back end,” Julien said of the move. “Certain guys have to clear waivers and others don’t. You deal with those kind of things but that’s management moves as well. They want him to play that’s something that’s best suited for him.”

Buffalo made two call-ups earlier this morning, recalling defenseman Mark Pysyk and forward Tim Schaller from Rochester. They also called Mikhail Grigorenko up from Rochester on Saturday.
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