The Boston Bruins will get a shot at redemption Monday
night. The B’s will play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just two days removed
from a troubling 3-2 loss in Toronto, Boston will look to convincingly bounce
back by earning two valuable points in this Northeast Division battle. The
Bruins (20-7-3) have a 6 point lead on the Leafs (17-12-3).
Fresh off a dismal 4 game road trip, returning home may be
exactly what the doctor ordered for Boston. The B’s are 10-2-1 at home this
season and have defeated Toronto 4 straight times at TD Garden. The Leafs have
dropped 3 in a row away from Air Canada Center.
Boston’s offense has essentially been non-existent in recent
games. Scoring only 6 goals in 4 games has raised many eyebrows. Their
inability to find the back of the net is major cause for concern. Claude Julien
wasted no time in addressing his team’s shortcomings. Julien shuffled his lines
Sunday in practice with the hope of instilling some life in his club.
Brad Marchand will slide up to line 1, Milan Lucic will be
demoted to line 3, and Danny Paille will be bumped to line 2. Coach Julien holds
his team to a high standard. The Bruins only registered 13 shots on goal last
time out versus Toronto. With several of Boston’s top players underachieving, the
shake up cannot do any harm and should be welcomed.
Tuukka Rask will be in net this time around for the Bruins
and he has owned the Leafs during the course of his career. He will look to
play the stopper in this one, as the Bruins will look to end their slide. With
Joffrey Lupul returning for Toronto, the Boston defense will need to be on its
toes. Nazem Kadri has nine points in his last 4 games for the Leafs and is
always a handful.
The black and gold seem to always respond positively when
their coach calls them out. Claude Julien expects an improved effort out of his
guys. With Toronto in town, there is no better time to unleash a beat down. Look
for the Bruins to come out of the gate strong in front of their home crowd.
Time is ticking on this truncated schedule. Boston needs to right the ship or
else the April 3 trading deadline could bring great change.
No comments:
Post a Comment