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Forget about the second wild card, the Boston Bruins are pushing for more.
With three wins in a row, and points in all but two of their last 10 games, the Black and Gold are clawing their way back into the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. Their 78 points have established a heavy six-point edge over the ninth-place Florida Panthers, and more importantly, have put them within striking distance of the first wild card Washington Capitals, who have 82 points (while playing two more games than the B’s, mind you). Another two wins, and a win over the Caps this Sunday and the Bruins have the serious potential to be in the driver’s seat of the conference’s top wild card spot.
“I think you need to push no matter what. Sometimes you just do what you got to do and if it works out it works out,… Boston coach Claude Julien said following today’s morning skate. “Right now it’s mostly about worrying about the game that you have to play and more importantly to me is pushing away from the people that are chasing you and if that means you catch up to somebody that’s great as well. Most important thing of it all is being in the playoffs and that’s what you got to look at.…
And tonight presents the start of yet another three-games-in-four-nights challenge for the B’s. After earning five of a possible six points with a Thursday/Saturday/Sunday schedule against the Flames, Flyers, and Red Wings, the Bruins will begin a three-game swing (in the same timeframe as last weekend’s, too) against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Capitals with a trip from a Lightning that’s just a single point away from a tie for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
For the Bolts, it’s been a year of career years basically across the board, as head coach Jon Cooper has put forth yet another Jack Adams quality campaign behind the bench.
But beating the Bruins has remained an issue for the Bolts. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, the Bruins have won 10 of 12 against the Bolts, including season sweeps in both 2012-13 (three games) and 2013-14 (four games), and a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay at TD Garden back on Jan. 13.
Things don’t necessarily get any easier for a Lightning squad that’s coming into tonight’s game with heavy injury news, headlined by the loss of both Ondrej Palat (out two to three weeks with a lower-body ailment) and top-four defenseman Braydon Coburn (out for four to six weeks with a lower-body injury). The Bolts will also be without the services of bottom-sixer Cedric Paquette (out 10 days with an upper-body injury) for tonight’s game, too.
Facing the Bolts is a challenge that the Bruins get up for, especially with the way they’re perceived around the league and when it comes to handling teams that are faster, skill-based squads.
“I think we’re maybe a little underrated when it comes to people thinking we can’t skate and I think that’s a wrong assessment and we’ve proven it whether it’s been Chicago or those kind of teams,… Julien said. “We can skate and the biggest thing when we struggle against quick teams is because our transition game is poor and we’re just not skating to the areas that we should be skating at.
“It’s more of our game taking a step back vs us not being able to handle it. I think we’re very capable and the guys now like [Ryan] Spooner and [David] Pastrnak, there’s a lot of guys, [Dan] Paille, those guys can all skate. We’re not looking at it the same way maybe a lot of people are.…
The Bruins have not lost to the Lightning at TD Garden since Mar. 25, 2010.
The Bolts will give the nod to Ben Bishop. And though he hasn’t been as dominant a force as he was a year ago, the 6-foot-7 Bishop enters tonight’s game with 33 wins in 49 starts this season, and has wins in six of his last seven starts. This seven-game stretch has been Bishop’s most dominant stretch of the year, too, with just 11 goals against and a .940 save percentage over that span. That level of success has not accompanied him to the ice against Boston, however, as the 28-year-old has zero wins and a woeful .873 save percentage and 3.87 goals against average in four career starts.
Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. The Finnish netminder celebrated his 28th birthday with a dynamite 39-of-40 showing against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night, and comes into play with wins in four of his last six appearances, allowing two goals or fewer in all but one of those six games. Rask has been a dominant figure at the Garden this year, too, with 18 wins and a .929 save percentage in 30 home starts. It’s all sunny for Rask here, as well, as the 28-year-old Rask will take to the ice with eight wins (three shutouts) and a 2.09 goals against average in 10 career games against Tampa Bay.
- Boston center Ryan Spooner has three goals and seven points in his last six games.
- B’s agitator Brad Marchand has five goals and six points in his last five games.
- Matt Bartkowski does not have a point in 14 straight games.
- Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson has 17 goals and 38 points in 32 road games this year.
- Valteri Filppula has one goal in his last 17 games played.
- Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has eight goals (but not assists) in 13 games in Boston.
Other news and notes
First-year forward Brian Ferlin is the expected healthy scratch.
Boston top-liner David Krejci (knee) has started skating on his own, which is an obvious plus given his importance to the club, but the timetable for his return appears to remain the same.
“I haven’t been told that he’s ready to join the team yet but I really don’t know whether he’s on the close side or not,… Julien said of Krejci. “I think the injury that he has is a hard one to tell because he’s not going to come back at 80 percent at this stage of the year. You want him to be as close to 100 percent as possible with that type of injury I think it’s important that that happens.…
On a signing note, it appears that the Bruins have signed college free agent Frankie Vatrano to a contract. Vatrano, a 20-year-old left shot forward, scored 18 goals and 28 points in 36 games for UMass-Amherst this season, and suited up for the Boston Jr. Bruins before his UMass tenure. The 5-foot-10 Vatrano, Hockey East’s Player of the Month back in December, is a native of East Longmeadow, Mass., and will forego his final two years at UMass by way of this signing.
Vatrano is Boston’s second undrafted free agent signing in the past week, with Seattle Thunderbirds forward Justin Hickman signing an entry-level deal with the club last Thursday.
With all their injury woes, the Lightning have recalled Mike Angelidis from the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. Angelidis has suited up in seven NHL games in his professional career (all with Tampa), and has 17 goals and 33 points in 57 game for the Syracuse Crunch this year.
How about that Johnny Boychuk contract on the Island? Seven years and $42 million for the former Bruin. Just for fun, here's a question to ask yourself and your friends. If you had the chance to do it over, would you rather sign Boychuk to that contract or Dennis Seidenberg's four-year, $16 million extension? It's not as easy as it sounds, I don't think.
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