It’s rivalry night in Boston, and the reeling Pittsburgh Penguins are in town.
Things are real different when it comes to the Bruins-Penguins rivalry. At least when it comes to the prelude to the 2015-16 season chapter of this feud. For one, the Penguins’ face of the franchise, Sidney Crosby, comes into this game with just six goals on the year, and tied for 87th in the league in scoring. Summertime catch Phil Kessel, a five-time 30-goal scorer, hasn’t exactly meshed with either of the Pens’ star centers, and has just nine goals through 28 games played.
Meanwhile, the Black and Gold have won nine of their last 14, and have points in all but two games over that stretch (9-2-3), amassing 21 of a possible 28 points (75 point percentage).
But with a home-and-home with the Pens on tap, and with second place in their sights pending Ottawa’s final tonight, the B’s want to grab momentum as soon as possible with their 8 p.m. start.
“It’s always good to win the first one obviously you get that momentum. When the first one is at home you don’t want the other team to come in here and steal one and then you have to go in their building,… B’s coach Claude Julien said. “But I like back-to-backs because there’s a little bit of I guess a competition that builds up throughout the game and a lot of times carries into the next one.…
On the injury front, the Bruins will be without Zac Rinaldo, who was placed on the injured reserve last night with an upper-body injury, while Alex Khokhlachev has been called up from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. The 22-year-old Khokhlachev, who had zero points and three shots on goal in a two-game cameo with the Big B’s earlier this season, comes back to the Hub with six goals and 20 points in 17 games for the P-Bruins this season.
“I have 23 healthy guys right now,… Julien said when asked if Khokhlachev will suit up for tonight’s tilt. “And in case circumstances change I’ll dress 20 of them.…
In net, the Penguins will give the start to Jeff Zatkoff. Relied upon to be the stopgap in the absence of Marc-Andre Fleury, out for at least a week with a concussion, the 28-year-old Zatkoff comes into tonight’s tilt with two wins and a .936 save percentage in five games this year.
The Bruins will counter with Tuukka Rask.
Rask has wins in three of his last five starts, including a 26-of-27 showing against the Florida Panthers last Saturday, and enters play with five wins and a .921 save percentage in 11 games against Pittsburgh.
This is the first head-to-head between the B’s and Penguins this season.