Game Night: Boston Bruins at Dallas Stars
Dec 31st, 2011
8 p.m. est
For the Pre-game report continue reading…
Bruins Rolling
The Boston Bruins, who are coming off an overtime win against the Phoenix Coyotes, take on the Dallas Stars tonight. The hottest team in the NHL didn’t look great in Phoenix, but given the teams depth, talent and goaltending, they were able to overcome sloppy 2nd and 3rd periods to win in OT. The Bruins extended their ridiculous streak to 21-2-1 in their last 24 games, remaining the team to beat in the league right now. Even with their torrid streak the Boston finds itself in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference 1 point behind the New York Rangers. Overall the Bruins are 4th in the league behind the Chicago Blackhawks (52 pts), the Vancouver Canucks (50 pts) and the aforementioned Rangers (50 pts). That being said the Bruins do have 2 games in hand over the Rangers and 4 games in hand over both Chicago and Vancouver.
Dallas
Dallas comes into tonight’s match-up 1 point out of a playoff spot with 41 points and a 20-15-1 record. Over their last 10 they’re 5-5 but are 11-6-1 at home. Tonight marks the first time Michael Ryder skates against the team he won the cup with last June. The games in Dallas so we won’t be able to judge the Boston fans reaction, but my guess is he would be cheered. Ryder didn’t leave under bad terms, in fact it couldn’t have worked out better for both sides. Ryder got a lucrative deal and the Bruins didn’t have to even get into a negotiation with a player they probably didn’t want back anyway. Although inconsistent at times during his three years in Boston, he’ll be remembered as a player who stepped up his game in the playoffs. Especially, the Stanley Cup run when he scored a crucial overtime goal in game 4 of the Montreal Canadiens series, and made a critical glove save in game 5 of that series after Tim Thomas was caught out of his net.
Tonight’s Line-up
Lucic Krejci Horton
Marchand Bergeron Seguin
Pouliot Kelly Peverley
Paille Campbell Thornton
Keep An Eye Out
Fight Club
The last time these two teams met, Gregory Campbell exacted revenge on Steve Ott for a hit he put on Campbell back when he played for the Florida Panthers. By the end of the game the Bruins had beat the pulp out of the Stars, physically and on the scoreboard, winning 6-3 and knocking out Adam Burish and Krys Barch with long-term injuries.
Peverley Returns
Rich Peverley should be back tonight after missing the last 2 games with an undisclosed injury. That most likely means Zach Hamill gets the boot upstairs to the press box.
Michael Ryder
It will be interesting to see how Ryder plays against his old team. He was usually very good when the B’s played the Canadiens, but that was a different situation altogether, as he was in the doghouse during much of his last year in Montreal.
Injury Report
With Peverley back, the Bruins should be completely healthy. Dallas on the other hand is dealing with some injuries. Kari Lehtonen just returned last game from a groin injury. Meanwhile the Stars are without Sheldon Souray, Brendan Morrow, and Stephane Robidas with various injuries.
Across Enemy Lines
Take trip over to Blackout Dallas for the Dallas Stars point of view.
Prediction
This could be the game the Bruins stumble and lose. With the new year approaching and a 3 day layoff before facing the New Jersey Devils, Boston could sleep through this one. On the other hand, after their performance against the Coyotes, Claude Julien is probably knocking their confidence down a few notches and reminding them how they got to where they are.
My guess: Dallas 4 Boston 3
Check back in after the game for a complete recap of the action.
images courtesy of wikipedia.org
stats courtesy of NHL.com
info courtesy of Yahoo Sports