Boston Bruins: 26-10-4 vs. Carolina Hurricanes: 16-22-2
The Boston Bruins will be in Raleigh, North Carolina
Saturday night for a showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes. The matchup will
mark the third and final meeting between these clubs this year. The B’s will be
in search of the season series sweep. Boston can clinch a playoff spot with a
victory and regain the Northeast Division lead with a Montreal loss.
Claude Julien’s team will look to pick up their sixth win in
their last eight attempts. As for the Hurricanes, not much has changed since
the 6-2 beating the Black-and-Gold laid on them this past Monday night. The
Canes have lost nine of their last ten games, including two additional losses
since departing from Boston.
The main focus for the B’s will be rediscovering their
offensive mojo. A team that scored early and often in beating the Canes
earlier this week, followed up what was a promising effort with a disheartening
shortcoming against the Islanders. Playing without leading scorers Patrice
Bergeron and Brad Marchand, the B’s offense seemed to be out of sorts and
marred by inconsistencies.
Facing a decimated Canes squad may once again prove to be
exactly what the Bruins need in order to get things back on track. After
falling 2-1 to Montreal on April 6, it was the Bruins bouncing back, hanging a
six spot on Carolina. The B’s once again find themselves in a similar situation;
only this time they will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Isles. Whether
the B’s have the same success remains to be seen.
After a great deal of line shuffling and searching for the
most advantageous way to fill the void left by Patrice Bergeron in the Bruins
lineup, Claude Julien must now do the same in addressing Marchand’s absence.
After a day off and a chance to reassess their assets, Boston will get another
attempt at building chemistry. The Bruins have gotten a steady contribution
from Gregory Campell and Rich Peverley recently. Both players have taken on
significantly different roles and will provide immense assistance if they can
keep up the success.
With the likes of Jaromir Jagr, David Krejci, Tyler Seguin,
Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton manning the Bruins front lines, emerging
victorious Saturday should be of little issue. The Canes are one of the weaker
defensive teams in the NHL and their lack of quality goaltending could help
spring the top Bruin forwards in the right direction. Several of the B’s
players admitted it has been difficult at times with out their top scorers, but
no one around the NHL is feeling sorry. Boston needs to block out any extraneous
deterrents and find what it takes from within.
The Hurricanes will be expected to trot out the same group
from other night. The Staal brothers are always a threat, as is Jeff Skinner.
Eric Staal, arguably Carolina’s best player, has not produced a single goal
during their current 7 game losing skid. Look for the trio to receive a heavy
dosage of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg.
Tuukka Rask will likely be in goal for the B’s. Carolina has
not been able to solve him, dropping both previous contests. Last time out,
Tuukka turned aside 40 shots and improved to 3-2 in career head-to-head
matchups. Things don’t look bright for the Hurricanes.
Look for the Bruins to continue on in riding their hot
goalies. No matter who man’s the Boston crease, goals will be difficult to come
by for the Hurricanes. Carolina has been brutally outscored 59-24 in their last
15 tilts (1-13-1). At the end of
the day, stats don’t lie. The B’s are fifth in the league in points (56) and
have outscored the opposition by a combined 27 goals this season. They are
still an elite NHL team and should face little resistance in knocking of the
Canes.
No comments:
Post a Comment