Boston Bruins At New York Islanders : Pile on the Isle!
Oct 23, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; New York Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53) faces off with Boston Bruins center Gregory Campbell (11) during the first period at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight the Boston Bruins return to action after having the past five days off for the NHL All-Star break that featured our very own Patrice Bergeron. While his Team Toews may have lost in the skills competition with Bergeron placing fifth in shot accuracy, they were able to come out victorious in the All-Star Game by a 17-12 margin.
While the Boston Bruins have held an exceptional record at their home base TD Garden over the course of January, their statistics against the Islanders on Long Island aren’t too shabby either. The Bruins hold a 6-2-0 record in the past 8 meetings on the Isle, but are currently 0-1 when facing them this season.
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After the Isles held a morning practice it was determined Jaroslav Halak would get the start in goal tonight against the Bruins, despite Chad Johnson earning them their victory at the Garden in October. Halak currently sports a 2.37 goals against average, .913 save percentage and 26-9-0-4 record on the season. He will be up against Rask for the Bruins, holding his own record of 20-11-7, 2.35 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
Johnny Boychuk is among one of the top players that the Bruins are going to have to keep an eye on tonight as they look to keep the momentum going that they had heading into the All-Star break. Boychuk currently leads the Islanders with a +17 on the season and ranks fourth overall for assists with 20. His presence on the Isles blue line has not gone unnoticed and he’s beginning to feel more at home;
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“After the first two practices, I knew what kind of team we had and how good we actually were. After the first couple of games, then you really knew how good we were.
We’ve been playing well. We have skilled, speedy forwards and some tough forwards. So you see some similarities in what we had back when we did win. We have good goaltending and good defense. There’s always a chance. We’ve played consistent this year and we just have to continue to do so. “
The Boston Bruins will also have to keep captain John Tavares on their radar as he currently leads the team in goals scored with 22 and overall in points with 46. We were able to witness some of his skills over the All-Star break as he earned himself four goals in the game to help Bergeron’s team seal the win. So if anyone should be paired against his line to shut him down, I’m placing money on the PBR line.
Next: Throwback Thursday: All-Star Edition
Frans Nielsen is perhaps the hottest player on the Isles at the moment, entering tonight’s game riding a five-game point streak (one goal, four assists). Nielsen is currently centering a line with Anders Lee and Ryan Strome (tied for +/- lead with Boychuk at 17), but also plays on the team’s top power-play unit.
Tonight’s projected lines for the Boston Bruins are:
Milan Lucic – David Krejci – David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly – Carl Soderberg – Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Craig Cunningham
Defensive Pairings
Dennis Seidenberg – Adam McQuaid
Given that the Islanders are on the second half of back-to-back games tonight and the Bruins are well-rested after a five-day break, they should hold the upper hand. So long as the Bruins haven’t lost their legs and still have the same chemistry they’ve had throughout the month of January, they should have no trouble remaining consistent and earning themselves another two points.