Win, loss, loss, loss. Win, loss, win, win. Loss, win, loss, win. Add it all up and you have a 6-6-0 record. This was not the October the Boston Bruins had in mind when they talked about a strong start. Not only have the Bruins strung up just one two-game winning streak in 2014-15, but they’ve yet to jump over the .500 mark since their opening night victory. In fact, the Bruins have won just one of five games that have followed a win this season. And following Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime win in Buffalo, a loss at home tonight against the Ottawa Senators would make all the sense in the world. (In fact, you sorta expect it at this point, don’t you?)
In their first head-to-head of the season, the B’s will go up against an Ottawa club that’s won three of five away from their home barn, and come into today’s game with a two-game point streak (1-0-1).
For an Ottawa club that finished fifth in the Atlantic last season (37 wins, 88 points), the scoring load has been shouldered by the hot-hand of top-sixer Clarke MacArthur. With five goals and eight points in his last seven games, and with three goals and four points in his last two contests, the veteran has turned it up a notch on the Sens’ top line with winger Bobby Ryan and center Kyle Turris.
The Sens are also starting to see some much needed production from Alex Chiasson, perhaps the biggest impact return in the offseason trade that sent Jason Spezza to Dallas. Chiasson, who played his college hockey down the road at Boston University (and a piece the B’s desperately wanted in the Tyler Seguin trade in 2013), has two goals and four points in his last four games.
They’ll go against a Boston defense rolling into town without three of their regulars, and on the heels of holding the painfully bad Buffalo Sabres to 15 shots (eight in the final two periods) on Thursday night.
It was the NHL debut for Joe Morrow, a former first-round pick (and the final piece of the aforementioned Seguin trade), who played on the Bruins’ middle pairing, while David Warsofsky skated in the seventh game of his NHL career. Both of those players are back in the lineup tonight as well, with Matt Bartkowski once again taking a seat as Boston’s healthy scratch.
Ottawa gives the start to the towering Robin Lehner. With a 3-0-1 record on the year (2-0 on the road), and on the heels of a strong 36-of-38 showing against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the 23-year-old netminder will look to make it five straight games with at least a point. In his career, Lehner has walked away a victor just two times in nine games against Boston in spite of a strong .930 save percentage.
Boston counters with Tuukka Rask. A loser in his last start, a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild though he stopped 38-of-42 shots against, the Finnish sensation comes into this one with five wins and a .930 save percentage in eight career starts against Ottawa. Oddly enough, however, Rask has just two wins and a mediocre-at-best .897 save percentage at home.
Brad Marchand has three goals and six points in his last eight games played.
Adam McQuaid scored his first goal of the season in the B’s last game.
Bobby Ryan has four goals in nine career games against the Bruins.
Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson has three goals and eight points in the last eight games.
The Black and Gold are still without defensemen Zdeno Chara (knee), Kevan Miller (shoulder), and Torey Krug (finger).
A late, late change for the Bruins: Top-line pivot David Krejci is a scratch. Krejci was dinged up Boston's win on Thursday night, but was given the vote of confidence by Claude Julien following yesterday's practice. Something must not have sat well with the B's playmaker in the pregame warmup. Big loss for a B's club that's relied heavily on Krejci's offensive production since his return and already battered with key injuries.
Matt Fraser draws back in the lineup in place of Krejci, with Chris Kelly expected to skate on the top line in his place.
The Bruins and Senators split last year’s season series, 2-2.