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The Boston Bruins are a living, breathing, walking nightmare.
The Black and Gold have just five wins in their last 16 games played, have lost four straight (0-1-3), and it seems that they’re coming more undone with each passing day. Boston put forth their worst effort of the season against the league’s second-worst club (Carolina) this past Sunday, Brad Marchand and Torey Krug got into a scrum at a Tuesday practice, and newly promoted CEO Charlie Jacobs has called the club’s recent performance ‘unacceptable’, adding that nobody’s job is safe.
This team is a mumps outbreak away from a full-blown disaster.
Oh, hey look, a trip to Pittsburgh.
To date, five Pittsburgh players have been diagnosed with the mumps -- forwards Sidney Crosby, Beau Bennett, Steve Downie, defenseman Olli Maata and most recently backup goaltender Thomas Greiss -- and though all have returned to action mump-free, it’d only seem fitting if a Bruin or two returned back to Boston with a new ailment, right?
It’s desperation time for the Bruins, too. Through 40 games of their 2014-15 campaign, the B’s still find themselves on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and the thought that this whole thing will ‘eventually sort itself out’ is fading (and fast). Boston still just sits one point away from the second wild card, and just two from the first, but almost all of the teams below (and above) have games in hand, making life all the more difficult for a Boston squad that’s posted a 7-9-2 record away from the Garden this season.
There’s been an overwhelming sense of self-pity around this club, and that’s simply gotta end if the Bruins are going to be anything more than a mediocre squad fighting tooth and nail to be just stay in the race. There’s too much veteran talent on this team for this slide to continue, and they should know that.
“When I say loosening up, it’s about taking away the unnecessary pressure and frustrations, and trying to turn that into some positive energy,… Claude Julien said after the club’s morning skate. “That’s what we’re hoping to see from our group tonight. We want to go out there and play the way that we can play.…
This will be Boston’s second of three head-to-heads against the Pens in 2014-15. And it’s all home sweet home for the Penguins. The gold of a different color have won 15 games at home this season (the most in the league), and have beaten the Bruins at home in four straight contests.
The Bruins are expected to give the start to Tuukka Rask. The 27-year-old has been brilliant for the Bruins as of late, and has had absolutely nothing to show for it. Rask’s 35-of-36 showing in Sunday’s shootout loss to Carolina simply reinforced that belief, too. Rask has 15 wins and a .911 save percentage in 32 games played this season, and comes into tonight’s game with three wins and .907 save percentage in nine career games against Pittsburgh. Rask took the overtime loss in his last outing against the Penguins, too, stopping 30-of-33 in a 61-minute affair back on Nov. 24 affair at TD Garden.
Pittsburgh counters with Marc-Andre Fleury. In the midst of his strongest season in almost seven years, the former No. 1 overall pick has hit a wall as of late, with just one win and a 3.16 goals against average in his last six outings, including a 29-of-33 performance against Montreal this past Saturday. Still, Fleury has been a force at home this season, with 14 wins (including four shutouts) in 20 games at CONSOL, and has 12 wins and a .923 save percentage in 21 career starts against the Bruins.
- Brad Marchand has five goals and 13 points in 17 road contests this season.
- B’s defenseman Dougie Hamilton has just one assist in six career games against the Pens.
- Evgeni Malkin has 13 goals and 28 points in 24 career games against the Bruins.
- Steve Downie has three goals and four assists in his last five games played.
- Pittsburgh has won eight of the last 10 regular-season meetings between the two rivals.
Other news and notes
Recently called up winger David Pastrnak will be a healthy scratch tonight. Pastrnak is fresh off a strong tournament for the Czech Republic at the 2015 World Junior Championship, scoring one goal and seven points in six games played, and has skated in five games for Boston this season (with one assist).
Forward Jordan Caron is also expected to sit as a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game, while defender Matt Bartkowski is expected to sit out for the third straight contest.
Pittsburgh will be without forwards Patric Hornqvist, Blake Comeau, Marcel Goc, Scott Wilson, Pascal Dupuis, and defenseman Olli Maata.
Paul Martin, out since Dec. 18, is a game-time decision.
The Bruins and Penguins have skated to seven-straight one-goal decisions.
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