Be sure to 'like' Hockeybuzz on Facebook!
Nine days ago, the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators took to the ice for what most called the important game of the season. The Bruins prevailed behind a two-goal showing from Ottawa native Ryan Spooner, and seemed to be pulling away with the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But in a year where nobody seems willing to pull ahead, the Senators are back in it, and tonight is now the most important game of the year for both the B’s and Sens.
“Yeah, we know what we’re facing in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Florida. Every game is going to be a fight,… Zdeno Chara said after Tuesday’s shootout loss to the Atlantic-worst Buffalo Sabres. “We’ve been saying that for the last few weeks. We know where we’re at. All these teams are fighting for the same spot as we are so we know it’s going to be crucial for us to get points and get wins.…
If the Senators win tonight’s contest at Canadian Tire Center, they move within two points of the Bruins (who would become losers of three in a row) with a game in hand, and take the season head-to-head series, three wins to two. A loss, and the Sens are six points out with just 12 games to go.
It’s a copout, I know, but the pressure is on both teams for this one.
“We know what’s at stake. So it’s up to us to bounce back here and that win next game’s going to be as important as it’s ever been so far this year,… Boston head coach Claude Julien of the final head-to-head with Ottawa. “And we know that, so we’ve got to pick up our socks here and not feel sorry for ourselves because we feel we got short changed here tonight and understand what’s at stake.…
This has been the story of the B’s season, too. Whenever the pressure is at its highest, or whenever you’re ready to accept the fact that this team is going to stumble away, they step up to the challenge.
“I think it’s a fine balance there that this group is pretty good at finding,… Adam McQuaid said after Tuesday’s game with Buffalo. “Even when we had a string of winning games we kept everything the right mindset and we didn’t look past each game, we continued to look to improve in areas.
“We move on from game to game and get ready for the next opponent and obviously the next game is going to be a big one for us and we are going to have to be prepared playing against a team that is right there with us and that is playing extremely good hockey right now.…
But going against a goaltender that’s straight-up on fire, the Bruins will need more than a slow-and-steady mindset. Simply put, they’ll need to execute. If you go back to the Washington game, the Bruins have just one goal on their last 77 shots (125 minutes). That’s one frustrating figure.
This is a game where the B’s will need the Spooner-Pastrnak combo to work its speedy magic, and have the Kelly-Soderberg-Eriksson line to continue to control the pace of play in the o-zone while their power play somehow finds a spark that could put the pressure on Ottawa early like it did nine days ago.
If not, it’s the next game that becomes the most important one. And so on, and so forth…
After missing Tuesday’s game with what the Bruins called ‘general soreness’ (although Genosaurus sounds much cooler, you just gotta say it all real real fast and hope nobody notices), Tuukka Rask is expected to return to the crease and get the nod for tonight’s tilt against the Sens. The 28-year-old was a hard-luck loser in his last appearance, stopping 36-of-38 in a 2-0 loss to Washington this past Sunday, but comes into this one riding a hot streak that’s included wins in five of his last seven starts and just 11 goals against over that stretch. The reigning Vezina winner stopped 39-of-40 in his last start against the Sens (a 3-1 Boston win on Mar. 10), and has seven wins (two shutouts), 2.07 goals against average, and a .932 save percentage in 12 career starts against Ottawa.
Ottawa counters with the story of the stretch run, the Hamburglar, Andrew Hammond. The undrafted 27-year-old is the story every hockey fan loves, too. While he was never exactly a world-beater at the American Hockey League level, the 6-foot-3 Hammond has delivered at the NHL level in 2014-15 at historical levels, with points in each of his first 12 career starts (11-0-1), matching a 76-year-old league record held by former Bruin netminder Frankie “Mr. Zero… Brimsek. Hammond’s been a freak, really, with six straight victories entering tonight’s contest and just 17 goals surrendered 389 shots against this year (a .956 save percentage). This will be his first career start against the Bruins.
- B’s captain Zdeno Chara has nine goals and 29 points in 58 career games against the Sens.
- Boston center Carl Soderberg is on a 24-game goalless drought.
- David Pastrnak has four goals and 11 points in 17 road games this year.
- Forward Mark Stone has four goals and nine points in his last 10 games.
- Ottawa’s Mika Zibanejad has three goals and six points in nine career games vs. Boston.
- Bobby Ryan has been held without a goal in seven straight contests.
Other news and notes
It doesn’t sound like David Krejci (knee) will be a go just yet. Forward Brett Connolly (finger) and defenseman Kevan Miller (shoulder, out for the year) remain out as well.
Brian Ferlin is the expected healthy scratch, and will likely be joined by P-Bruins goaltender Jeremy Smith, who is joining the team for this three-game trip on an emergency recall.
The Senators are still without Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Chris Neil (thumb), and Chris Phillips (undisclosed), while Craig Anderson (hand) is out once again.
With a win, the Senators will win the season series against the Bruins for the first time since 2005-06.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com