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Three games into the road trip, and things have gotten worse and worse (and worse) for the Boston Bruins. On a trip that began with a sound victory in New Jersey, the Bruins came up short in overtime the following night against the Ottawa Senators, and most recently gave up the game-winning goal with just 1:42 left in the third period of their Monday loss in New York. So, a trip to the Wells Fargo Center for a meeting with a Philadelphia Flyers group that’s won three in a row fails to inspire confidence.
The recent fall of the B’s is worrisome, and has exposed just how much this team relies on the offensive life that David Krejci (out week-to-week with an upper-body injury) breathes into the lineup.
With Krejci out, the Bruins have scored 16 goals in six games. It’s worth noting, however, that seven of those goals came in Krejci’s first game out of the lineup, and that just nine have followed in the five since. It’s mighty hard to win on a consistent basis if you’re only scoring one -- two, max -- goals per night. Even if you’re getting superb goaltending (which the Bruins are from their guys right now).
And with losses in seven of their last nine games, the Black and Gold have gone from controlling their destiny in search of first place in the Atlantic Division to trying to play catch up with the rest of the division (Tampa Bay’s win last night propelled them over the B’s and into a wild card spot). The season is long, and the Bruins are far, far from buried, but with goals hard to come by, the Bruins seemingly need their four lines and six-man defensive unit to go above and beyond all game long for the team to win.
But if the Bruins need an offensive pick-me-up, it could come tonight with their league-best power play against a Philly penalty-kill that comes into tonight ranked 25th in the league (78.7 killing percentage).
The 28-year-old Tuukka Rask is expected to get the start in net for the Black and Gold in search of his first win of the new calendar year (Rask is 0-2-2 to begin January). Rask took the loss on Monday night in spite of a strong 28-of-30 night, and has lost both of his two starts on this road swing even though he’s stopped all but four of 70 shots against (.943 save percentage).
Rask took the loss in his only prior head-to-head with Philly this season behind an 32-of-37 overtime loss back on Oct. 21. The good news for Rask, at least for those looking for some positivity, is that he comes into play with nine wins and a .929 save percentage in 12 career starts against the Flyers.
Philadelphia counters with Steve Mason. The Oakville, Ont. native is riding a two-game winning streak, including a 20-save shutout of the New York Islanders in his last outing, and comes into play with four wins (two shutouts) and a .921 save percentage in 12 home games this year. Mason has four wins and a .929 save percentage in nine career starts against the B’s.
Stats of Note
- Patrice Bergeron has 11 goals and 28 points in 37 games against Philadelphia.
- B’s defender Torey Krug has been held without a point in eight of his last 10 games.
- Winger Loui Eriksson has 10 goals and 21 points in 22 games on one-days rest this year.
- Philly forward Wayne Simmonds has three goals and five points in his last seven games.
- Jakub Voracek has four goals and 13 points in 17 career games against the Bruins.
Other news and notes
Claude Julien (somehow) straight-up scoffed at the idea of scratching the struggling Kevan Miller, meaning that Joe Morrow will likely continue to sit as Boston’s healthy scratch. Both Tyler Randell and Frank Vatrano were healthy scratches last game, so it’ll be interesting to see if that sticks.
Krejci and Adam McQuaid remain out of action and on the injured reserve.
Rookie defender Shayne Gostisbehere remains out of action for Philadelphia.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.