It’s been almost three weeks since the Bruins’ last game, a 7-2 beatdown of the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden, but it’s certainly felt like it’s been longer.
While most of the B’s got some much needed rest during the Olympic break, some Bruins left Boston for Sochi and came back with some shiny new hardware. B’s coach Claude Julien, general manager Peter Chiarelli, and second-line center Patrice Bergeron won a Gold Medal with Canada. Winger Loui Eriksson took home a Silver by way of his performance for Sweden, while goaltender Tuukka Rask shut the USA out to earn his first Olympic medal, a Bronze.
Tonight, they return to NHL ice, visiting the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center.
In net, the Bruins will start Chad Johnson for the 14th time this season.
The 27-year-old Johnson is 11-3-0 with a .924 save percentage in 17 games this year, and has started the previous two games in Buffalo this year, posting a 1-1-0 record with 33 saves on 39 shots. Johnson will be backed up by Niklas Svedberg. Svedberg has appeared in one game this season, stopping 33 of 35 against the Nashville Predators, and has posted a 20-11-3 record and .910 save percentage for the Providence Bruins (AHL) this season.
Rask, who remained back in Boston, is not trifling with a Buffalo road trip.
On a goaltending front, tonight could’ve presented the B’s with a great chance to continue to immerse the 24-year-old into the National Hockey League. Many expect Svedberg -- though he’s still without a contract for next season -- to be Rask’s back-up in 2014-15, and giving him a shot against the league-worst Sabres seemed like a low-risk/high-reward scenario for the Black-and-Gold.
Buffalo counters with Jhonas Enroth. Making his 19th start of the season, the 25-year-old comes into action with a one win and a .905 save percentage in 2013-14, and has an 0-4-2 record and 3.85 goals against average in seven career contests against the Bruins.
This is basically as close of a ‘gimme’ as the B’s will get in their second half sprint to the playoffs. Factor the recent success of the Boston top-line featuring Milan Lucic, David Krejci, and veteran Jarome Iginla into it all, and this one should be a runaway in favor of the Bruins.
But as we've seen, every trip to Buffalo comes with a new set of adventures for the Bruins.
The Sabres have certainly been a nightmare for fans in Buffalo this season, and despite last night’s 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, have bordered on unwatchable since day one. But the Bruins are in the market for a defender, and with the Sabres in a galaxy far, far away from the playoff picture, fans should keep an eye on veteran blue-liner Henrik Tallinder.
A healthy scratch last night, Tallinder will draw back into the Sabres’ blue-line tonight, and enters play seventh among Buffalo skaters in time-on-ice per game, averaging 19:07 a night. The 6-foot-4 Tallinder, a lefty-shooting defensemen, has two goals and seven points in 44 contests this year, presumably wouldn't break the bank in terms of a return heading Buffalo's way, and is a free agent at the end of the season.
This is all right up the B’s alley in what is a thin, thin market.
From Chiarelli’s interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub today:
“If we were to do a trade to improve our team, I would look at anything,… Chiarelli said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a veteran defenseman, a veteran, or a defenseman. But that’s something I’ve been focusing on.…Chiarelli admitted there may be no major move out there to be made.
“We’re trying to improve our team,… Chiarelli said. “The market is very tight. I would anticipate doing something. I’m not looking for a blockbuster. That type of deal might be hard to do this year and even adding, with the number of teams that are still in it, may be hard. But we’re going to try our best.…
Boston is still without defensemen Adam McQuaid (lower-body). McQuaid has not played since Jan. 19 against the Chicago Blackhawks, and has now missed 26 games this year due to injuries.