The Boston Bruins are in Toronto to take on hockey phenom Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs in an attempt to earn their second win of the 2016-17 season.
The Boston Bruins are up in Toronto and getting ready to take on the Maple Leafs tonight. While all the players got ready, a few took a little time out to cheer on the local team as they battled it out in baseball’s postseason.
Big win last night, Beautiful morning In Toronto, Peameal bacon for breakfast @BlueJays game tonight = one happy Canadian
— Matt Beleskey (@Matt_Beleskey) October 14, 2016
The Bruins are once again without the services of Adam McQuaid and Patrice Bergeron. Both players remained in Boston as they recover from a ‘day-to-day’ injury.
In the meantime, the Bruins are going to go with what works and stick with the ‘BPM’ or ‘Double Dave’ line. The trio of David Backes, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak put in all six goals in their win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Claude Julien found magic in this line combination, and it is doubtful he’ll break this line up tonight in Toronto.
Here were the practice lineups for the Bruins yesterday. It should be an early preview for how the lines are shaping up for tonight’s match against the Leafs.
Forwards:
Ryan Spooner–David Krejci–Danton Heinen
Brad Marchand-David Backes-David Pastrnak
Matt Beleskey–Austin Czarnik–Jimmy Hayes
Dominic Moore–Riley Nash–Noel Acciari–Tim Schaller
Defensemen:
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Rob O’Gara
John-Michael Liles–Colin Miller
Joe Morrow
Goaltenders:
Tuukka Rask (out on personal day)
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While the Leafs haven’t been much of a contender in the past, they’ve got a strong, young team, centered around hockey phenom Auston Matthews. Matthews became the first player in NHL history to score four goals in their debut game.
“ has got a good up-and-coming team,” said Claude Julien of the Leafs. “That’s not a surprise to anybody. They’ve done a good job of drafting lately, and they certainly decided to develop those players and give them some opportunities.
“Developing is one thing, but if you score four goals I’m not sure how much development you need there. There’s no doubt they’re a good team, and you have to respect them.
“They’re well-coached, they’re going to compete hard all night long, they’re going to be on top of you and they’re a good skating team. So it’s an opportunity for us to face a good challenge and try to build off that first win.”
The Boston Bruins have their own young guns coming up this season. They had four players start their NHL careers on Thursday’s game against Columbus. Brandon Carlo was a +5 in the game against the Blue Jackets, and had an overall solid game. He’ll be with Zdeno Chara, and they’ll have their hands full stopping last year’s number one draft pick.
While the Leafs have a scoring talent in Matthews, the Leafs may not have any answer to the agitating, all-around machine that is Brad Marchand. Marchand showed off his extensive versatility in his five point game. Boston’s Ball of Hate is looking to stay atop the NHL leaderboards.
If the Boston Bruins play to their strengths, they should be able to collect their second win of the season against the Maple Leafs. They’re the more experienced team, and the modified Backes line has shown surprising versatility in their first outing. We’ll find out when the puck drops later tonight.