Causeway gameday! Boston Bruins plow into Buffalo

It’s December, so there’s likely tons of snow on the ground in Buffalo, NY right now.  Here’s hoping the powdery white stuff doesn’t impact the Boston Bruins travel, or their play.

I’m going to come out and say it:  last night’s win against the Columbus Blue Jackets was the best game the Boston Bruins have played all season.  They were physical on defense and protected Tuukka Rask from getting peppered with scoring chances.  They moved the puck easily out of the defensive zone on breakouts.  And they finished their scoring chances, which usually is an issue for this team.

After all was said and done, the Bruins walked away from last night with a 7-2 victory over a tough, Metro Division leading Columbus Blue Jackets team.  Charlie McAvoy had himself a doozy of a game, racking up a Gordie Howe hat trick.  Youngster Jake DeBrusk responded well to a mid-game benching against the Rangers.  And Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak extended their lengthy point streaks.

Tonight, the team travels to Buffalo to take on the lowly Sabres.  Buffalo sits at 8-18-7 (23 points), which puts them at the bottom of the entire Eastern Conference.  Simply put, they are terrible.  Unfortunately for the Bruins, one of Buffalo’s 8 wins came against the Bruins, after a late game collapse by the Bs.

Schedule

Puck drop tonight at the KeyBank Center is scheduled for 7:30 pm.  Believe it or not, the NHL deemed this game worthy of national attention, so the game will be broadcast in NBC Sports Network.  Locally, listeners can find the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

What to watch for

David Krejci did not make the trip to Buffalo due to an upper body injury.  That allowed Anders Bjork to slide his way back into the lineup last night against the Blue Jackets.  Bjork tallied an assist on one of the Bruins SEVEN goals, while firing 3 shots on net.  If he wants to earn ice time back, watch for him to try to prove himself worthy of a roster spot, especially considering is is waivers exempt and could find himself sent down.

Next: Bruins top priority for the future

No word on whether Adam McQuaid will return tonight, although he is close.  The team could really use him to help defend against Jack Eichel, who is an absolutely dynamo.  His last game, an overtime loss against Carolina, Eichel had his first career hat trick and an assist.  I’m sure all of Buffalo is hoping that game will spark Eichel’s performance going forward.