5 years ago, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks met in the Stanley Cup Final. That isn’t in the cards for 2018, but Kane and Toews are always a challenge.
Talk about two teams on completely different trajectories this season. The Boston Bruins have been a revelation this season, far eclipsing (most) everyone’s expectations. The Bruins (42-15-8, 92 points) are currently fighting for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they just keep winning. The Bruins are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, and are riding a 5 game winning streak.
The Chicago Blackhawks, however, are having an utterly disappointing season. At 29-31-8, 66 points, Chicago appears poised to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2007-2008. For the record, that was the first year in Chicago for both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Since that season, the ‘Hawks have made the playoffs every year and won 3 Stanley Cups, including in 2013, which we won’t discuss.
But those facts and figures don’t make this matchup any less difficult. It’s still a battle of Original 6 teams, and as long as players like Toews, Kane, and Duncan Keith are in uniform, Chicago is a dangerous team. Add in the fact that Chicago can play spoiler to teams with playoff aspirations, and they may want to take advantage of that.
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The who, what, when, and where
Today’s game is a matinee performance, as are 6 other NHL games. The Bruins and Blackhawks face-off at 1:00 pm at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. If you find yourself home at that time, tune into NESN to find the game, or 98.5 The Sports Hub. If you’re interested in scoreboard watching, the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Montreal Canadiens at 1:00 pm as well. I am normally loathe to root for the Canadiens, but for the Bruins to catch the Lightning for the #1 seed, Tampa Bay needs to start losing.
Just like Thursday’s game against the Flyers, the Bruins will be without Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy due to injury, and David Backes due to suspension. The absence of Bergeron doesn’t seem to be holding back Brad Marchand at all. The Bruins have won all 5 games Bergeron has missed, largely in part to Marchand’s play. Marchand has 5 goals and 4 assists, including 3 straight game winning goals (2 in overtime).
Just another day at the office for @Bmarch63. That's three straight games with the game-winner for the Bruins leading scorer. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/5lTwXMyMHC
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 9, 2018
After returning from an injury of his own in their last game, Tuukka Rask reportedly is “feeling fine” and will start today in net. Oh, and Bruins newcomer Tommy Wingels, who quickly endeared himself to the Boston faithful, faces his former team for the first time since the deal.
Next: Backes Suspension: NHL Inconsistency Abounds
It’s also worth noting that this is a home-and-home series, and the teams will meet again tomorrow at 12:30 pm.