In the National Hockey League, a league short on those that celebrate American Thanksgiving, a lot is made of the holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November. It’s not about turkey or stuffing, though, but rather your team’s spot in the standings. For years now, the belief has been that if you’re in the playoff picture on Thanksgiving, there’s a good chance you’ll be in in April.
It doesn’t always hold true, obviously. But it’s not a bad spot to be in come November.
And the Boston Bruins, who’ve battled their way to an 11-8-1 record -- impressive considering Boston’s woeful 0-3-0 start to the year -- are presently within that structure with a fourth-place mark in the Atlantic Division (their 23-point mark puts them with the New Jersey Devils as East wild card clubs).
That could change tonight given a massive NHL slate that has all but four of the league’s 30 teams in action, but with a win against the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena tonight, the Black and Gold remain a club in control of their own destiny (this sounds silly in November). At least by Thanksgiving.
This is the second head-to-head showdown between the Bruins and Wings in the last two weeks with the B’s winning the previous meeting by a 3-1 final at TD Garden, and comes with a chance for the Bruins to extend their win streak to four games. Detroit, with two-straight victories, come into play with wins in six of their last 10 (but just five wins in 11 home games), while the B’s are 7-2-0 on the road.
Former Red Wing netminder Jonas Gustavsson is expected to get the nod in net for the Bruins. The 31-year-old has been a solid backup complement to the B’s this year, with four wins and a .914 save percentage in five games, and stopped 24-of-26 in a win over Minnesota in his last start. Gustavsson played with Detroit from 2013 to 2015, and won 21 of 36 games with Detroit.
The Wings counter with Petr Mrazek. The Czech netminder got the start against the Bruins the last time around and took the loss quite hard, blaming himself for the goals against. The 23-year-old comes into play with wins in six of 11 games this year, and stopped 35-of-37 shots against in his last game, a 5-2 victory over the LA Kings on Nov. 20. Mrazek, though he’s played well in terms of keeping the Wings in these games, is winless in two career starts against the Bruins.
Other news and notes
Forward Tyler Randell was the healthy scratch for the B’s in their last game alongside defenseman Joe Morrow. Defenseman Kevan Miller (upper-body), winger David Pastrnak (foot), and veteran center Chris Kelly (leg) remain out of action.