What The Boston Bruins Can Expect From The Penguins
Nov 24, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center
Sidney Crosby(87) and Boston Bruins defenseman
Torey Krug(47) battle for position during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins have already met once this season, the Penguins able to secure the first victory 3-2. The Bruins handed Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury his 300th career win, allowing him to become the 3rd youngest netminder to reach such an achievement.
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This season the Pittsburgh Penguins have been no stranger to injury as Chris Kunitz, Paul Martin, Pascal Dupuis have all been sidelined. However, tonight the possibility exists that Paul martin could rejoin the Penguins. Martin practiced with the team Tuesday morning after missing the past 8 games for the Pens with an undisclosed injury.
“I feel good, I feel great today,” Martin said. “The last three or four days I haven’t had any issues. My focus is on (Wednesday) and with the option of playing if everything checks out well today.” Martin told Pittsburgh media.
Chris Kunitz and Marcel Goc also returned to practice for the Penguins on Tuesday after both missed Monday’s practice with a follow-up appointment and an illness respectively.
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On the Radar:
Sidney Crosby is a player that is always on the Boston Bruins radar especially since he holds a 5-game point streak against them with 3 goals and 4 assists. Both he and Evgeni Malkin currently hold the team-lead for pointso n the season with 43 a piece, Malkin holding the top spot with 17 goals scored to Crosby’s 11. The Boston Bruins are also going to want to keep an eye on newly acquired Penguin David Perron. Perron adds a physical edge to the Penguins already elite team, ranking third in hits with 78. He also adds depth to the Pens power play unit given his right hand shot in the slot that they have been searching for since Patric Hornqvist was sidelined with an injury.
Projected Lines for Pittsburgh:
Perron – Crosby – Downie
Spaling/Sill – Malkin – Bennett
Kunitz – Sutter – Rust
Ebbett/Farnham – Goc – Adams
Defensive Pairings
Letang – Martin
Ehrhoff – Bortuzzo
Scuderi – Despres
Goaltending Match-up:
It is expected that the goaltending match-up will be the same as it was int he Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals in 2013, placing Tuukka Rask opposite Marc-Andre Fleury.
Marc-Andre Fleury has appeared in 31 games for the Penguins this season, holding a 20-7-3-1 record. He sports a .926 save percentage and 2.18 GAA. He was able to stop 27 of 29 shots against the Bruins in late November when these two teams last met up, earning his 300th career win as an overtime victory.
Tuukka Rask is still looking for his first victory of 2015 along with the rest of the Boston Bruins squad. While his record doesn’t sport as many wins (15-10-6-1), he does have a decent save percentage of .911 and a 2.54 GAA.