Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs. San Jose Sharks
Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports
WHO: Boston Bruins (28-14-2) at San Jose Sharks (28-11-6)
WHEN: 10:30 pm EST
Last Meeting: October 24- Bruins won 2-1
Opposition Blog: Blades of Teal
TV: NESN, CSN-CA
Radio: 100.7 WZLX
Bruins forward Shawn Thornton will return to the lineup after his 15 game suspension. He will take his usual spot on the fourth line. Loui Eriksson is a game time decision and if he plays he will slot in on the third line.
Defenseman Johnny Boychuk will miss the game due to personal reasons.
The Sharks are 16-1-3 in their 20 games at SAP Center this season. The Bruins have already lost the first two games on their Canadian road trip, so it will not be an easy task for the Bruins to win the game.
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Bruins Lineup
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg–Ryan Spooner-Loui Eriksson*
Daniel Paille–Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Matt Bartowski-Kevan Miller
*Loui Eriksson is a game time decision and if he can not play Matt Fraser will take his spot.
Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports
Quick Facts/ Stats
Last 10: Boston 5-5-0; San Jose 7-3-0
Carl Soderberg and Gregory Campbell both have three game assist streaks.
Joe Pavelski has five goals in his last five games for the Sharks. Joe Thornton leads the league with 45 assists. He has at least one assist in 12 of his past 14 games.
The Sharks are the NHL’s fifth best offense, as the average 3.13 goals per game. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has allowed eight goals on his past 38 shots. Rask will need to improve his game if the Bruins want to get a win in tonight’s game.
| GP | Record | Home | Away | L10 | G/G | GA/G | PP% | PK% | PIM/G | S/G | S/A | FO% | |
| BOS | 44 | 28-14-2 | 18-4-2 | 10-10-0 | 5-5-0 | 2.89 | 2.18 | 20.2 | 83.4 | 11.7 | 30.5 | 29.3 | 52.7 |
| SJ | 45 | 28-11-6 | 16-1-3 | 12-10-3 | 7-3-0 | 3.13 | 2.44 | 19.2 | 82.9 | 9.0 | 35.7 | 28.5 | 53.0 |
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Keys To A Bruins Victory
1. Limit the Sharks’ Opportunities: The Sharks are close to top in the league in goals per game. They have many weapons on offense, including Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. The Bruins will need to play better defense as a team. Without Johnny Boychuk in the lineup, players like Hamilton and McQuaid will need to step up and play extra minutes due to the depleted Bruins defense.
2. Stay out of the Penalty Box: In the past two games the Bruins are getting too many penalties. When they keep getting penalties it limits the amount of time the Bruins can generate opportunities on offense. The Bruins will need to stay out of the box if they want a win against the Sharks.
3. Generate Offense: In the past two games the Bruins have scored two goals in each of those games. The top two forward lines have not scored in either of those two games. If the Bruins want a victory, they will need scoring from those two lines.