Boston Bruins Look To Take Down The First Place Pittsburgh Penguins

March 17, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates up ice with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Pittsburgh Penguins won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

After a game filled with many emotions on Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins get a chance to redeem themselves in front of their home crowd against the top seeded Pittsburgh Penguins.

The entire city of Boston tuned in to the Bruins game on Wednesday night. As the whole crowd sang the national anthem, it sent chills down my spine, along with the Bruins fan base and everyone in the country who was looking on. Unfortunately, the B’s came up short as they conceded a goal in the final minute, and eventually lost in a shootout. The Bruins effort cannot be overlooked. They fought hard through the entirety of the game, but unfortunately could not hold on.

On Friday night, the first place Pittsburgh Penguins will come to the Garden for possibly the most anticipated matchup of the year. Ever since the “Jerome Iginla fiasco” in late March, every Bruins fan has had this game circled on the calendar.

Jerome Iginla’s decision to go to Pittsburgh over Boston caused many Bruin fans to become angry. Everyone was looking forward to having the veteran forward play in the Black and Gold until he suddenly changed his mind. That is why this is a game that everyone has been looking forward to. Boston will look to show Iginla that he made the wrong choice. Although Boston missed out Iginla, the addition of Jaromir Jagr has worked out nicely if you ask me. Jagr is averaging a point per game in his time at Boston.

Most fans, including myself, are on the fence if Boston is capable of making a deep run in the playoffs with the way they have been playing as of late. To me, this is a perfect chance to change the opinions of fans and make a statement by coming out and beating the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It is probable that Swedish icon, Carl Soderberg will make his Bruins’ debut on Friday night. After a long wait, he is finally here and Coach Claude Julien feels he is ready to play. He will be put to the test right away, as he faces a hard-nosed Penguins team who is looking to lock up the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. If practice on Thursday morning was any indication, it looks like Milan Lucic will be a healthy scratch for Friday night’s game. During Thursday’s practice, he was put on the fifth line, in green jerseys along with Kaspars Daugavins and Jay Pandolfo. He has been off his game all season, lacking confidence and the physical presence that he usually brings to this team. I think Coach Julien should have done this move earlier, but hopefully this wakes him up for the playoffs.

This will certainly be a classic with a lot of emotions for many different reasons.

Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET in Boston.