A three-game trip to California brought little to cheer about for the Boston Bruins.
The B’s dropped two of three on the road swing, but found slight redemption in Saturday night’s 1-0 shutout win over the San Jose Sharks. And while the trip’s ending came with the welcomed return of Loui Eriksson and Shawn Thornton after 15 games with the duo on the shelf -- Eriksson due to a concussion and Thornton because of a suspension -- the trip didn’t come without a casualty of its own. Defensemen Dougie Hamilton, the second-year pro that’s emerged as a legitimate top four defensemen in 2013-14, will be out with what the B’s are calling a mild concussion.
It’s a huge blow for the 20-year-old Hamilton, who’s already missed 10 games this season due to a lower-body injury, and an even bigger one to the already battered Boston blue-line. On top of Hamilton’s offensive contributions since his return -- tallying a goal and three points in five games -- Hamilton has been relied upon as one of the Bruins’ d-zone assets given the club’s loss of Dennis Seidenberg to a torn ACL late last month. But now with Hamilton out for the second time, the Bruins will once again turn to Kevan Miller to provide a stabilizing presence out there.
“We try and utilize our D’s to their strengths throughout the game and [Miller] was having a pretty good game; he was solid,… Boston coach Claude Julien said of the 6-foot-2 Miller. “[San Jose]’s a big team and they played a physical game and I thought – he’s a big strong player, he’s able to handle that and I thought he was having a good game at that point. So I think the ice time, basically goes to the people that deserve it and we thought he was a pretty solid that night.…
Miller has one goal, two points, and 25 hits in 12 games for the Bruins this season.
He also brings a style that the B’s will need against a hard nosed Leafs team desperate for points.
“We’ve talked about upping our game as well. We had a tough start there on that California trip and we kind of found our game there in the last one,… said Julien this morning. “You can't just rely on one game and think that it is going to continue, we have to do the same thing. Both teams are built with some physical players and a lot of it from the back end from both sides. But it is a physical game every time we play each other but they end up being good games.…
The Bruins have won both meetings against the Leafs this season, and have won 17 of 24 meetings against Toronto since the start of the 2009-10 season.
For the ninth time in the past ten games, the Leafs will give the start to goaltender Jonathan Bernier. Entering play with 14 wins in 28 starts this season, Bernier comes into action on the heels of a 36-save shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, and has posted a .926 save percentage in spite of his .500 record and facing the fifth most shots in the league. In his career, the 25-year-old has allowed 11 goals on 68 shots in two games against the Bruins, and surrendered four goals on 38 shots in his only appearance against them as a Leaf, back on Dec. 8.
The Bruins seem set to go with Tuukka Rask once again. Expected to make his fifth straight start in the B’s net, the 26-year-old Rask will look to build on this past Saturday’s 26-save shutout over the Sharks, and expects to do so against a Toronto club that’s he simply owned since they traded his rights to Boston. With nine wins and a .951 save percentage in 10 career starts against the Maple Leafs, Rask has been a noted Leaf killer, and was just that in his lone appearance against ‘em in 2013-14, stopping 33-of-34 back on Nov. 9.
It could be the matchup to get Rask officially back on track after a six-game stretch that’s left Rask with just two wins and a mediocre-at-best .882 save percentage.
While many of his linemates have struggled against Rask and the Bruins, the 30-year-old Joffrey Lupul seems to love going against the B’s defense. Entering play with six goals and 17 points in 22 career games against Boston, Lupul comes into Boston with three goals on 19 shots in his last five games, and after a zero-shot performance on Sunday, you can be sure that Lupul won’t hesitate to go to those dirty areas (and up against Zdeno Chara) to get himself back on track.
With Hamilton out, the Bruins’ need for a strong game from Torey Krug just became mandatory. Especially in the attacking zone. Everybody knows that the Maple Leafs are a club that allows a boatload of shots/chances/whatever, and the 5-foot-9 Krug has the shot that can put the B’s on the board tonight. And being at home is just a bonus for Krug. Of Krug’s 10 goals and 23 points this year, seven goals and 17 points have come on Garden ice, and with a goal and an assist in two games against Toronto this year, expecting No. 47 to hammer it on Bernier all net seems like an easy bet.
- Boston forward Carl Soderberg has two goals and eight points in his last eight games.
- Brad Marchand has just one goal, one assist, and 12 penalty minutes in his last seven games.
- Captain Zdeno Chara has 10 goals and 31 points in 45 games against the Leafs since signing with Boston in 2006.
- Phil Kessel has just three goals in 24 career games against the Bruins.
- Defensemen Cody Franson has six points in 12 games against the Atlantic Division.
Other notes and stuff
Caron, who missed the entire West Coast trip with a sore back, will likely be a healthy scratch tonight, as the 36-year-old Thornton will make his return to Garden ice after his 15-game suspension.
Defensemen Johnny Boychuk, whose wife gave birth to twin girls yesterday, will also be in the lineup, expected to skate on the Bruins’ second defensive pairing.
Toronto forward David Clarkson is questionable for tonight’s game with the flu.
Oh, and the best news of all: P.J. Axelsson will drop the puck during tonight's ceremonial puck drop as the Bruins' 90th anniversary celebration continues tonight with the Garden paying homage to the 90s tonight.