Yesterday’s trade deadline came and went without a Boston Bruin being traded out of town.
Naturally, that’s taken the edge off a B’s club that’s won two of four since returning from the Olympic break, and two in a row dating back to Sunday’s six-goal effort at Madison Square Garden.
“There is definitely a different attitude today. As you can see, guys are pretty happy. Yesterday nobody wanted to see me, every time they saw me walking around the room they’d put their heads down hoping I wouldn’t point the finger at them,… B’s coach Claude Julien said. “But today, for some reason, they seem happy to see me so that’s, kind of, the kind of impact it has on players on trade deadline day. Especially when guys are happy, they don’t want to leave. So I think it’s pretty obvious that the guys came in today happy to still be here and be part of this group.…
Adding Philadelphia defensemen Andrej Meszaros via trade and claiming the 30-year-old Corey Potter off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, the B’s added depth to their point, something Julien’s more than fine with given the injuries that have marred the club in 2013-14. “Depth is depth,… said Julien, adding, “[Peter Chiarelli] did a good job. You have to realize that you didn’t lose anybody, and we like our players here. It’s just about adding some depth and that he did.…
Neither Meszaros nor Potter will dress tonight when the B’s play host to the Washington Capitals for the second time in less than a week, looking to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to Alexander Ovechkin and Co. this past Saturday.
“It’s certainly an opportunity for us to make the adjustments that ended up costing us [on Saturday],… the B’s bench boss noted of tonight’s challenge against a Washington club that’s dropped two in a row. “I didn’t think, we were very disciplined last time we played them. For a team that has a really good power play we took too many penalties. Obviously on our penalty kill we had some assignments there that were missed and created some scoring opportunities and some goals.
“Number one, we need to be disciplined. Number two, we have to make sure that we are better in our penalty kill tonight if that is going to be the case. But we didn’t play a great game defensively, we gave them a lot of scoring chances by the end of the night and we have to tighten up. I think slowly but surely our team is finding that part of the game that’s been missing there for the last few.…
Though taking the loss in their last meeting with Washington (the only head-to-head between the two in 2013-14), the Boston offense has been rolling of late, scoring 16 goals in the last four contests.
It’s been a four-line effort as well, with the Bruins’ new-look third line featuring Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson on the wings and the big bodied Carl Soderberg at center, forming a three-headed secondary scoring attack that Julien’s longed for this season.
“I think we have gotten a little bit more out of Carl at center and Chris has played the wing extremely well. If something was to happen I have no issues with moving those guys around but it has been a good fit so far,… Julien noted. “They’re producing and every game they are getting good scoring chances. They’ve been a good line for us so we’re going to keep them like that as long as we can.…
When it comes to the Bruins’ third line, whether it’s been by design or not (and I’m led to believe that it is), having a situation where two centermen are on that line has been a favorite of Julien, something that dates way back to when the B’s first acquired Kelly and Rich Peverley back in 2011.
It just adds another dimension to that line.
And speaking of adding to the third line, Loui Eriksson will return to the Boston lineup tonight after missing Tuesday night’s game against Florida with a minor injury. While Eriksson’s scratch and subsequent absence from the ice during Wednesday’s practice led to rampant and unfounded speculation, the Bruins confirmed that Eriksson’s been dealing with a minor infection in his heel.
The 28-year-old Eriksson apparently cut his foot going into a tub when playing for Team Sweden in Sochi last month, with the cut later becoming infected. (Gross.) Eriksson has a goal and eight points in 16 games since returning from a concussion, his second of the year, on Jan. 11.
In net, the start is set to go to Tuukka Rask.
Rask was simply sensational in his last start, a 39-save win over the Rangers, and will look to rebound from a Saturday showing that saddled him with the loss after allowing four goals on 31 Caps shots. In fact, Rask is still in search of his first career win against Washington, as he enters tonight’s contest with an 0-3-3 record and .881 save percentage in six career games against the Red-and-White.
Washington will counter with Braden Holtby. Despite being the second leg of a back-to-back that began in Philadelphia last night, and spite of Holtby allowing four goals on 18 shots before being pulled last night, head coach Adam Oates is giving the nod to No. 70 once again tonight.
Holtby stopped 36-of-38 in his last appearance against the B’s, and boasts a perfect 4-0-0 record, 2.16 goals against average, and .936 save percentage in his regular season career against Boston.
Noted Bruin killer and newly acquired Capital Jaroslav Halak will back him up.