Event: Boston Bruins vs. New Jersey Devils
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 7 p.m. EDT.
Location: TD Garden (Capacity: 17,565), Boston, MA.
Broadcast Info: Tuesday's game between the Bruins and Devils will be broadcast live on NESN. The game can also be heard on the 98.5 the Sports Hub Radio Network, with Dave Goucher providing play-by-play, and Bob Beers providing analysis.
Last Time Out: The Bruins completed another one-sided ousting of an opponent, knocking the Buffalo Sabres in the jaw, 6-2 on Saturday to earn their fifth straight win.
Boston forward Tyler Seguin added two goals to his resume, putting him at 11 goals on the season and tying his total goal output from last year. That was good enough to earn him a plus-14 rating, and the NHL’s First Star of the Week honors.
After being called a "piece of [expletive]" by Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, Bruins forward Milan Lucic had a call with Brendan Shanahan yesterday in regards to Lucic’s hit on Miller that ended up concussing the goaltender. No suspension was handed out, and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli came out with a statement, supporting both the league, and his first line winger.
"We are satisfied with the NHL's announcement that there will be no suspension or fine for Milan, and we respect the process that the League took to reach this decision," Chiarelli said. "I am also proud that Milan took the high road, and chose not to engage in an exchange of words after the unfortunate comments that were made about him following the game."
The Devils come into the game with a little kick in their step as well. On Saturday, they beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in an overtime shootout victory after coming back from a two-goal deficit. They have also won four of their last five games, and have done so without the help of their star Ilya Kovalchuk who has been out of the lineup for four games with a lower body injury.
Storyline: The Devils enter tonight with the second to least amount of goals scored this season. Sitting just above the New York Islanders (who have just 29 goals so far this year), the Devils have just 33 pucks in the net. To compare, the Bruins have 30 goals combined in the past five games.
The scoring woes could continue for the Devils, as historically, they have been limited to just six goals in their last five games in Boston. A large part of that had to do with Tim Thomas being in net. He won all three contests last year against the New Jersey team and allowed only two goals in those three games.
Players To Watch: The obvious player to watch for the Devils would be Patrick Elias who enters the game on a seven-game point streak with six goals and nine assists so far this season. If Kovalchuk returns for tonight’s game, keep an eye on him as well as he could provide a spark for the goal-deprived team.
As for the Bruins, Seguin is showing no signs of slowing down his campaign and neither is Lucic. Rich Peverley made a big impact in his first game back after an undisclosed injury that kept him out of a couple of games. Now that he is fully back, expect him to contribute.
Once again, assuming Thomas is back in net (which, given his success against them, he should be), it should provide just the right formula for the Bruins.
Prediction: Though the Devils sit right next to the Bruins in the standings, and have won four of their last five, I think Boston’s firepower is going to be too much for New Jersey. Add that to the already troubling lack of goals from the Devils and that makes for another lopsided game. Final Score: Bruins 5, Devils 2.