Event: Boston Bruins vs. Winnipeg Jets
Date/Time: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 7 p.m. EDT.
Location: TD Garden (Capacity: 17,565), Boston, MA.
Broadcast Info: Tuesday's game between the Bruins and the Jets will be broadcast live on NESN. The game can also be heard on 98.5 the Sports Hub Radio Network, with Dave Goucher providing play-by-play, and Bob Beers providing analysis.
Last Time Out: Almost as equally unforgettable as the rest of their season to this point, the Bruins came out and had an uncharacteristic loss to the Vancouver Canucks, giving up four power play goals, and the 4-3 game.
The B’s gave them no shortage of chances either, giving Vancouver 11 power plays to score from. The Canucks had, and continue to have the best power play in the league, so they were bound to score a couple.
Two of those happened to come off an unfortunate turn of circumstances for the Bruins. With 1:13 left to go in the second period, Brad Marchand was thrown out of the game after allegedly clipping Sami Salo at the boards. He was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for it. In that five minutes, the Canucks scored twice, giving them the eventual game-winning goal.
For Winnipeg, Blake Wheeler scored the tying goal in the second period while Johnny Oduya netted the game winner, 57 seconds in overtime to give the Jets a 2-1 OT win over the Sabres on Saturday.
They got off to a slow start in the new year, dropping their first two contests against Montreal and Toronto. However, their most recent victory plus a couple of days rest has them feeling confident heading back into Boston tonight.
Storyline: This is the third game of the season series between the Bruins and the Jets, and with the series tied 1-1, tonight’s game could be an important one.
This will be the first time the Bruins play the Jets without it coming off a back-to-back game. In their previous two meetings, the Bruins played the Red Wings the day before, and then again in December, they played the Penguins before.
While the Bruins did come out on top in November, the Jets got the best of them in December, posting a 2-1 win over them. Shawn Thornton had the lone goal for the Bruins, and Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little netted the goals for Winnipeg. Tuukka Rask took the loss, putting up 33 saves. Ondrej Pavelec made 39.
Players To Watch: With Brad Marchand out five games with his suspension, Benoit Pouliot will once again be filling in for him on the second line. Last time Pouliot was there, was against the Calgary Flames where he added three assists to a 9-0 shellacking of the Flames. He has had some success in the last fews weeks and has been showing vast improvement since the beginning of the year.
With Pouliot moved up, Zach Hamill is down with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. He has been a part of the action quite a bit in the past month and he is starting to showcase what he can do on a consistent basis. Watch him play with two play makers and he might impress those who don’t know much about him.
Prediction: The Bruins are finally rested up before playing this team and with the fire they are feeling from last game, expect them to come out hard against the Jets and take a victory. Final Score: Bruins 4, Jets 2.
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