Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets: What to Look For Tonight
Tuukka Rask will return tonight as the Boston Bruins are on the road for their final game of this season opening trip when they face the Winnipeg Jets at 8:00pm EST. Both teams are 1-1 so far this season, and the Bruins will get their first look at Patrik Laine tonight. Laine was the second pick in this year’s draft, behind Auston Mathews. The 18-year-old Finn has tremendous size, listed as six foot five, 206 pounds, and he scored a goal in his debut.
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The Bruins will be looking to rebound from Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That loss followed a spirited come from behind win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in the season opener. Like the Bruins, the Jets won their season opener and then lost their last game.
The two teams have a connection. A pair of current Jets, Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart, were acquired in a trade with the Bruins back on Feb. 18, 2011, in return for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik when the Jets were still in Atlanta as the Thrashers.
However, Peverley was later dealt to the Dallas Stars in 2013 in a multi-player deal in which the Bruins acquired four players, with Joe Morrow being the only player remaining with the Bruins. Valabik is playing this season for Lusteneau EHC in the Alps Hockey League. Wheeler was one of the leading scorers in the NHL last year.
The lines and defense should look the same for the Bruins. The downside is that Patrice Bergeron will not make his season debut, but is expected to practice Wednesday. Defensemen Adam McQuaid is still out with an upper body injury, and is listed as day-to-day, and defenseman Kevan Miller for another five weeks following hand surgery last week. The Jets will be without forward Bryan Little, who is out with a lower body injury.
These are the lines and pairs that will hit the ice:
Forwards:
Brad Marchand—David Backes—David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner—David Krejci—Danton Heinen
Matt Beleskey—Austin Czarnik—Jimmy Hayes
Dominic Moore—Riley Nash—Noel Acciari
Defense:
Torey Krug—Rob O’Gara
John-Michael Liles—Colin Miller
Goalies:
A few notable stats through two games: Fourth-line winger Noel Acciai gets the least amount of ice time on the team, but has doled out the most hits, with 5…Third-pair defenseman John-Michael Liles has eight blocked shots so far. That’s twice as much as the first pair (Zdeno Chara, Brandon Carlo) has. David Pasternak has 14 shots through two game. That’s twice as many as the player behind him in that category, Brad Marchand, who has seven…Pastrnak also leads the squad in plus/minus with a plus five.
Next: David Backes is a True Bruin