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For the second time in just over a week, the Boston Bruins have a chance to bury the Florida Panthers.
Entering tonight’s game with a four-point edge on the tenth-place Panthers, a win tonight gives the Bruins a six-point cushion over Florida with just five games remaining. And if the ninth-place Ottawa Senators, playing the Detroit Red Wings tonight, falter as well, the B’s will have opened up a much needed five-point cushion on the second and final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Breathing room would be an obvious plus for a Black and Gold that’s had numerous opportunities to run away with a playoff spot, but it’s not something they know better than to bank on, either.
“I don’t think you should be breathing easy and I don’t think anybody in there has been breathing easy,… Boston coach Claude Julien said after the morning skate today. “I think it’s just one of those things where we know where we’re at, we know what we have to do here we just have to stay with the task at hand here and keep focusing on what we need to do.
“[Krejci] said it, we’re not denying that either, it’s almost like a game seven tonight. A lot of stuff can happen one or another here depending on the outcome.…
And they know it, as in their last Game 7-esque showdown with the ‘Cats, the Bruins stumbled their way to a 2-1 shootout loss in Florida’s barn back on Mar. 21.
“I think they’ve been a good team that’s progressed all year,… Julien said of the Panthers. “They’ve gotten better and that’s a good sign for them with young players coming around, they’ve added some players, veteran players, that have helped solidify that group. I think the coaching, the staff has done a real good job with that group. They believe in themselves, but then again when you draft early and you draft well, eventually your team comes around and I think it’s certainly starting to come around.
“They’ve done a good job with putting the players that they’ve drafted in those right places and those players are obviously becoming pretty elite players. I compare them a lot to the Islanders right now,… continued the B’s bench boss. “The Islanders did a great job of that too. With patience and time you get better. This is where parity comes in. In my mind, when you win a lot you have a hard time keeping your players and when you don’t win much and you draft well you build your team up and eventually the two end up meeting in the middle and it makes for a pretty interesting league.…
Winning in Boston has been nearly impossible for the Panthers, though, as they take to tonight’s contest without a win at TD Garden in seven straight contests (their last win in Boston: Dec. 8, 2011).
Although the veteran netminder missed the Panthers’ last game with a reaggravated shoulder injury, the ‘Cats, with their season on the line, give the nod to the Roberto Luongo. The 35-year-old Luongo has won three of five starts and posted a .932 save percentage in five games since returning to the Florida lineup, and comes into tonight’s game with strong head-to-head figures against the B’s this season, with a 1-0-1 record and just three goals on 52 shots against (a .942 save percentage). Overall, he has 13 wins (four shutouts) and a 2.39 goals against average in 29 career starts against the B’s.
Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. The reigning Vezina stopped 30-of-31 in Sunday’s overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, showing no signs of the dehydration issues that forced him out of Saturday’s tilt against the New York Rangers, and comes into this game with 20 wins and a .930 save percentage in 33 home games this season. The 28-year-old Rask has dominated the Panthers in his career, too, with 11 wins and a .963 save percentage in 13 career games against ‘em.
- Carl Soderberg has seven goals and 28 points in 39 home games this season.
- B’s winger David Pastrnak has one goal and six points in his last six games played.
- Boston defenseman Torey Krug has scored just one goal in his last 20 games.
- Jaromir Jagr has three goals and seven points in his last six games.
- Former Bruin Brad Boyes has five goals in 20 career games against his old club.
Other news and notes
On an injury front, the Bruins are still without the services of Dougie Hamilton (undisclosed), but there’s some positive news regarding the status of deadline pickup Brett Connolly.
“Getting closer,… Julien said of Connolly. “You see him there in practice. It’s a matter now of getting the ‘OK’ from the doctors, as I mentioned last week, and him feeling good enough and comfortable enough. I think it’s a combination of those two making those decisions. That’s where we’re at now still.…
The 22-year-old Connolly broke a finger in a practice with the Bruins before even playing a game with the club, and had 12 goals, 15 points, and 74 shots on goal in 50 games for Tampa Bay this season.
The B’s also made the signing of Miami (OH) University standout Austin Czarnik official, too.
Congratulations to captain @ACzarnik7 on signing with the @NHLBruins! Thank you for 4 great years! #Brotherhood pic.twitter.com/j7X6tjkK2p
— The Brotherhood (@MiamiOH_Hockey) March 31, 2015Czarnik had 46 goals and 169 points in 159 games at the NCAA level.
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