Teams: Boston Bruins at Los Angeles Kings
Records: Boston 42-28-3 (87 Points) , Los Angeles 37-25-12 (86 Points)
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Time: 9:00 P.M. (EST)
TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)
Last Game: Bruins 1 , San Jose Sharks 2 ……. St. Louis Blues 0 , Kings 1 (SO)
Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):
FORWARDS:
Lucic–Krejci–Caron
Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin
Rolston–Kelly–Pouliot
Paille–Campbell–Thornton
DEFENSE:
Chara–Boychuk
Seidenberg–Ference
McQuaid–Zanon
GOALTENDER:
Turco
Thomas
Scratches– …… Mike Mottau, Trent Whitfield, Joe Corvo
Injuries:
Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger remains sidelined with a concussion he suffered back on January 21.
Rich Peverley (MCL) – Peverley will sit out another game, but is with the team in California and reports have indicated that he has begun to participate in contact drills during practice.
Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back-up ‘tender is slated to be out of commission until mid-April with a lower abdomen/groin strain.
Last Time We Met: Kings 0 , Bruins 3
– When these two squads met at TD Garden back in mid-December, just about everything was going wrong for the Kings. They’d just fired head coach Terry Murray and were in the midst of a brutal six-game losing streak. Boston took full advantage of these outlying circumstances, pasting the Kings by a 3-0 score, thanks to a two-goal outing from agitating winger Brad Marchand.
Prediction: Look for veteran back-up Marty Turco to get the nod this evening for his second start in a Bruins’ uniform. If not, he should be in the crease on Sunday evening in Anaheim. Rarely do I predict such a high scoring affair — especially between two squads struggling for offense–, but in this case, I think this one will be a back-and-forth contest that fans will not want to miss. The Kings are the more desperate team right now, which makes me think they’ll be able to get the extra point tonight on home ice.
Bruins 4 , Kings 5 (OT)