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A winter hurricane has finally left Boston, and a hockey hurricane has arrived in its place.
After Thursday’s head-to-head with the Panthers was postponed due to a bombogenesis that pounded the Boston area with upwards of 16 inches of snow, the shoveled-out Boston Bruins will resume their regular-season slate Saturday night with a visit from the Carolina Hurricanes.
It will be interesting to see if the B’s hot streak -- a nine-game point streak (9-0-2) and 16-3-2 record in their last 21 overall -- stays intact after the extended layoff, and if this team can continue to develop separation between them and the rest of the pack in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins enter tonight’s game tied with the Maple Leafs for second in the Atlantic Division (the Leafs have played a staggering four more games than the Black and Gold), and a nine-point playoff cushion in the Atlantic (and with two fewer games played than the fourth-place Red Wings).
It’s basically the perfect situation for the Bruins, a team that’s chased the standings with their fate out of their hands far too often in recent years, and with a five-day bye break on the horizon.
With this being the first of a weekend back-to-back, and with a Sunday showdown against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on deck, backup Anton Khudobin will get the start in the B’s crease tonight.
The 31-year-old Khudobin last played in a Dec. 28 head-to-head with the Caps, and allowed three goals on 34 shots in a losing effort. Overall, Khudobin has taken wins in eight of his 13 decisions, and has posted a .923 save percentage over that stretch. A Hurricane for two seasons, Khudobin has posted a 2-0-1 record against the franchise since being traded by them back in 2015.
No morning skate for the ‘Canes, so we’ll have to wait on their starting goaltender. But if it means anything for a guessing man, Cam Ward stopped all 21 shots thrown his way on Thursday, and has allowed just six goals over his last four starts, with a .939 save percentage over that span.
This is the first of three head-to-head meetings between the B’s and ex-Whalers.
Loose pucks: Same lineup from Tuesday is expected for the Bruins tonight… Anders Bjork, assigned to the AHL on Thursday, had an assist and three shots on goal in his P-Bruins debut Friday… The Bruins have taken points out of their last 12 games vs. the Hurricanes, at 7-0-5, with their last regulation loss to Carolina a 4-2 road setback on Apr. 13, 2013…
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.