On Saturday night the Boston Bruins saw their 4 game win streak and Tuukka Rask’s 21 game point streak come to an end. The team heads to New Jersey to take on the Devils in the second half of a back-to-back set.
After a lackluster effort in last night’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the Boston Bruins had already turned their attention to the next game, coming less than 24 hours later against the New Jersey Devils.
Tuukka Rask spoke to reporters after seeing his career long 21 game point streak come to an end, he didn’t mince any words and said it would take an entire team effort to get back to their winning ways.
"“I think the biggest thing we have to worry about is how we play and how we want to play, Losses happen and we have come to recognize that when we play the way we want to and get the pace up, we win more games than we lose. I think that’s got to be our focus. Make sure we show up and have a really good effort [on Sunday night].”"
Unfortunately for Rask, he’ll most likely have to wait until Tuesday night against Calgary to put one in the win column, as Anton Khudobin is expected to start Sunday in New Jersey. The loss to Buffalo also snapped the team’s 12 game win streak against Atlantic Division opponents, the Bruins are now 12-2-2 within the division.
According to head coach Bruce Cassidy, Noel Acciari is “probable” to return to the lineup against the Devils. The 26 year old has been sidelined with a lower body injury since January 23rd, a game coincidentally also against New Jersey. No word on the return of Kevan Miller, the defenseman has missed four straight games with an upper body injury.
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The last time these two teams met was the game where Brad Marchand delivered an elbow to the head of Marcus Johansson, resulting in a five game suspension. Johansson suffered a concussion on the play, and hasn’t returned to the lineup. It will be interesting to see if New Jersey goes after Marchand early, to try to get him off his game and stick up for their teammate.
The Bruins will return home to face the Flames on Tuesday, their last home game for a while, as they will head off to Western Canada for the next few games.