Event: Boston Bruins vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Location: TD Garden (Capacity: 17,565), Boston, MA.
Broadcast Info: Tuesday’s game between the Bruins and the Penguins will be broadcast live on NBCSN(HD), TSN2 and NESN(HD). The game can also be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with Dave Goucher providing play-by-play, and Bob Beers providing analysis.
Last Time Out: The Bruins have surged as of late including in their most recent game against the New York Rangers on Sunday. After falling in their previous meetings against the Rangers, the B’s came back and fought to win, 2-1.
Marian Gaborik scored early in the first to give New York and early 1-0 lead. However, the B’s came back in the second and scored two unanswered goals in the middle frame.
Dennis Seidenberg picked up his fifth goal of the year, followed by Patrice Bergeron’s 22nd of the year eight minutes after that.
Tim Thomas had another impressive outing, stopping 33-of-34 shots, while on the opposite end of the ice, Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves.
The Penguins had a little bit of a more heated game their last time out on Sunday. They took a 6-4 loss against their Pennsylvania rival Philadephia Flyers, and it was a mess by the end of the game.
Steve Sullivan and James Neal scored to give the Penguins an early 2-0 lead, but then the Flyers answered with five straight goals spanning all three periods.
Storyline: This is the fourth and final regular season game between these two teams, and so far this year Pittsburgh has been able to put up some big numbers against the Bruins.
They have won two-of-the-three games so far, including the last outing on March 11, in Pittsburgh where Malkin and company won 5-2.
David Krejci scored twice in that game for the B’s, but no one else seemed to be able to find offense. And the goaltenders didn’t have their best game either.
Tim Thomas was out to start, but got chased from net after giving up three goals in the first period on ten shots. Marty Turco was sent it to replace him after that, and he allowed two goals over the remaining forty minutes of play.
Players To Watch: The Bruins have had quite a stirring in the locker room and there will be a couple of changes given the clinching of their No. 2 playoff seed.
Tim Thomas will neither play nor dress for tonight’s game, and will get the night completely off. Marty Turco is expected to start, and the B’s did call up Anton Khudobin from Providence to provide backup to Turco.
Adam McQuaid said he was feeling better after being hit into the boards and dealt with some swelling on his eye, but he will sit out tonight as well. Instead, newest Bruins defenseman Torey Krug will make his NHL debut.
Also, Gregory Campbell will be back in the lineup after missing a game, but Jordan Caron will miss tonight due to being sick.
Prediction: Both teams enter tonight with different kinds of energy.The only thing that would put the Bruins over the Penguins is that they are playing at home. But Pittsburgh does have a lot of pent up aggression after their last bout with the Flyers. Either way it should be a good game. Final Score: Bruins 4, Penguins 3 (OT).
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