Boston Bruins Causeway Gameday! PhiLLLLy comes to town

The Boston Bruins are coming off an exciting overtime win and are on a winning streak.  The Philadelphia Flyers come to town on a bit of a skid.

You know how the saying goes about March:  “In like a lion, out like a lamb.”  Well, the Boston Bruins offense has absolutely embraced the lion mentality, and has roared loudly early on in the month.  The Bruins are 3-0-0 in March, and have outscored their opponents 16-10.  This includes the 8 goal performance against the Penguins and a 6 goal output against the Red Wings.

The Flyers, however, are looking more like a sickly wildebeest on the Serengeti, about to get picked off by the lion.  The Flyers, after having gone 10-0-3 in the month of February, are 0-3-1 in March.  They have been outscored 19-10 in those 4 games, including a game where they scored 6 goals, but absolutely collapsed against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Funny to note, but the Flyers struggling before they battle Boston is nothing new.  The last time the Bruins and Flyers played on December 2, 2017, the Flyers came in on a 9 game losing streak, that the Bruins extended to 10 with a 3-0 shutout.  This also marks the first times the team have played since the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII on February 4th.  Time for the Bruins to exact revenge.

The who, what, and where?

Well, Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney is looking like a genius right now by bolstering the roster with NHL talent at the deadline.  After Tuesday’s game and the utterly outrageous 3 game suspension of David Backes, the Bruins roster is significantly depleted.  Patrice Bergeron remains out, as is Charlie McAvoy, but Noel Acciari is back.  Here’s how the practice lines look:

Immediately noticeable is Backes on the 1st line, with Marchand not on the ice.  Head Coach Bruce Cassidy indicated however that Marchand had an appointment that ran late, and that he would be on the ice tonight.  Also, after missing two games, starting netminder Tuukka Rask is back in action.

Speaking of Marchand…dude, he is good.  Nay, he is elite.  Just look at his numbers this season.  In 51 games played, he has 28 goals, 38 assists, and a +31 rating.  That’s 1.29 points per game, which is 4th in the entire NHL.  If he could have avoided that 5 game suspension, and hadn’t missed 8 games to injury, he would most certainly be in the Hart Trophy discussion.

Next: Incredible Inconsistency in Backes Suspension

For those inclined to watch tonight’s game, tuned your TV to NESN at 7:00 pm to catch the game at the TD Garden in Boston, MA.  For those not near their set, tune into 98.5 The Sports Hub to get the radio broadcast of the game.