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Here come the Boston Bruins.
Winners of four straight, and with points in eight straight contests, the Black and Gold have put themselves back within striking distance in the Atlantic Division. With their 4-3 win over first-place Tampa Bay on Tuesday night, the Bruins find themselves within six points of first place in the division (they also have a game in hand over the Bolts), and have established a much needed three-point edge on the Florida Panthers for the second wild-card spot. Their 52 points are tied with the New York Rangers, the team in control of the first wild card in the East, too.
And of course, it’s those same Rangers that skate opposite the B’s tonight.
The Rangers are on a tear, too. They’ve won 13 of their last 15 games played, and though they’ll present the Bruins with yet another strong challenge in the Hub, that won’t be the focus of this one.
2014 first-rounder David Pastrnak, the talk of Boston, will skate in his ninth NHL game tonight.
After that, the Bruins will have to decide whether or not to keep the 18-year-old with the club, thus burning the first year of his three-year, entry-level contract. The general consensus is that Pastrnak’s been too successful at this level -- he’s scored four goals and added an assist in eight NHL games -- to send back.
But the Bruins, even though they’d already made their decision, won’t tip their hand just yet.
“Over a week ago we talked about evaluating ourselves every day and every game but I don’t think that’s changed,… Julien said of the Pastrnak situation. “We evaluate every player so whether that weighs in on the decision or not, I’m not saying that but is he being a evaluated? Yeah like all the other players are.…
In the past, the Bruins have kept the player beyond the nine-game trial -- the two most recent examples include Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton -- but they’re undoubtedly exuding a bit more caution than usual when it comes to handling the 5-foot-10, barely 180-pound winger’s NHL start.
this player is going to be an important player to our organization, I think we all feel that way. So you just have to make sure that whatever decision is made, whenever it’s made, you hope it’s going to be the right one. I can stand here and tell you that he’s made unbelievable strides since the beginning of the year. Offensively we’ve seen what he can bring, the skillset, the speed that he’s got,… said Julien. “We’ve also seen how good he’s become at playing without the puck. Coming back to positions and really playing the North American style of game. He’s really learned this game real quickly and you’ve got to give him credit for that. I think right now, I said it the other night, he’s certainly made as strong case for himself but I’m not the one who’s going to stand here and give you the answer whether he’s here or not, that’s not my job.…
It’s hard to envision a scenario in which the Bruins sent Pastrnak back to Providence, especially given the asking prices for a right-shooting right winger with top six potential on the trade market, and it sorta borders on impossible when you look at the recent success that’s found Pastrnak, his linemates, and the Bruins.
“We feel like we’re starting to see a team that we felt we had before the season started,… Julien said. “Right now it’s a matter of seeing your team continue to play as well as it has lately and not only that but continue to grow because I still think there’s a lot of improvement we can make to be better.…
All I know is that you’re gonna have to be one hell of a salesman to sell millions of Black and Gold enthusiasts on the idea that this team doesn’t need what Pastrnak brings to the table, even as a skinny teen.
New York will give the start to backup netminder Cam Talbot. The 27-year-old Talbot stopped all 12 shots faced in relief of Henrik Lundqvist on Jan. 13, and will be making his first start since Jan. 8’s 28-save victory over the L.A. Kings. Talbot’s found success in his limited ice time, too, with four wins and a stellar .957 save percentage in his last five starts. In total, the 6-foot-3 Talbot has a 4-3-1 record and .929 save percentage, along with three shutouts, in 10 games. This will be his first career game against Boston.
The Bruins are expected to counter with Tuukka Rask. The reigning Vezina winner stopped 16-of-19 in his last start, and comes into play with wins in three straight, and a 3-0-2 record in 2015. The 27-year-old Rask has won 13 of 21 home starts this season, posting a 2.26 goals against average on Garden ice. Rask has six wins and a .932 save percentage in 12 career regular season contests against the Blueshirts.
- Top-line center David Krejci has points in seven of his last eight games.
- Dougie Hamilton has one goal and four points in six career games against New York.
- Boston winger Reilly Smith has scored just one goal in his last 13 games.
- Rick Nash has 12 goals in 18 road games this season.
- New York forward Mats Zuccarello has just one goal in his last 10 games played.
Other news and notes
Barring some sort of unmentioned personnel decision, forward Jordan Caron and defenseman Matt Bartkowski are expected to sit on the ninth level as the B’s healthy scratches.
The Rangers will arrive to the Hub relatively healthy, but their one ailing body is an awfully big one.
Centerman Derek Stepan, injured in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders, did travel with the club for tonight’s contests, but is unlikely to skate with what the club is calling an ‘upper-body’ injury.
The 24-year-old Stepan has six goals and 27 points in 28 games played this season.
This will be the first of three meetings between the Bruins and Rangers this season. Boston swept the season series 3-0 last year, and have won eight of their last 11 (including five playoff games) against the Rangers.
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