The Boston Bruins hope that home ice is the cure to what ails them Saturday afternoon.
The Bruins will host the Philadelphia Flyers at the TD Garden Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. It is their first home game after a four game winless road trip for the Bruins, who are relinquishing control to their playoff fates with every loss.
But if there is any team that can boost the Bruins' spirits, it just may be the Flyers. The Bruins have a 9-1-1 record against Philadelphia since they lost to them in the 2010 playoffs, including two wins against them this season. The last time the two teams met was January 22nd, and the Bruins collected a 6-5 shootout win.
If the Bruins want to break out of their funk, they will have to fluster Flyers' goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. He has won his last seven games in net for the Flyers, a span that included a shutout streak of 249:43 (which was broken on Thursday.)
If the Bruins are going to rattle Bryzgalov, they will need their offense to convert on more shots. Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin have been throwing a lot of shots on net over the past week, but have been stymied in the goal scoring department.
The Bruins may debut some defensive changes Saturday, as their poor play in their zone was exploited this past week. While goalies Tim Thomas and Marty Turco have been struggling, their defense hasn't chipped in either. The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa reported Saturday morning that the Bruins' may be changing defensive pairings soon, including pairing Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg as a unit.
Where To Watch and Listen: The game will be on NESN and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup of Chowder.