Boston Bruins: 26-11-4 Ottawa Senators: 21-14-6
The Boston Bruins will play host to the Ottawa Senators
Monday night at TD Garden. It will be the fifth and final time these two squads
will meet this season. After beating the Senators in each of the previous four
meetings, the B’s will be looking for the clean sweep of their divisional
rival.
The Black-and-Gold have had a stranglehold on the Sens,
winning 14 of their last 15 head to head matchups. This game comes at a perfect
time for the Bruins, as they hope to avoid three straight losses. Boston has not
dropped three consecutive games yet this season, largely due to their uncanny
ability to bounce back when facing adverse situations.
Since losing to Boston, 3-2, back on April 2, Ottawa has
been defeated in three of their last five contests. Once hot the heels of the
Bruins, the Senators have since fallen behind. They now trail the B’s by 8
points in the standings and are fighting for their playoff lives.
Tyler Seguin has registered a goal in each of his last three
games. Seguin scored his last time out against Ottawa and will look to continue
his hot streak. Milan Lucic is another player to watch. The bruising winger had
been under a lot of scrutiny for his lack of production. Lucic potted his sixth
goal Saturday, snapping a nine game scoreless drought in a 4-2 loss at
Carolina. Like Seguin, Lucic has had recent success against the Sens, picking
up two assists in the same tilt. Jaromir Jagr (points in 4 straight games) and
Gregory Campell (points in 3 of 4 games) are also hopeful to continue their recent
successful runs.
Ottawa is a club that will be playing with great
desperation. Their recent slide has put them in a difficult predicament and
winning is really a must from here on out. Senator captain Daniel Alfredsson is
always up for the big games and will certainly have has teammates ready to go.
Craig Anderson will likely be in net for the Sens. He has yet to face Boston
this season and is a ghastly 1-7 (4.20 GAA) in his last eight tries facing
them.
The likelihood of either team’s offense playing a prominent
role in this game is slim. Each of Boston’s four victories over Ottawa has been
by one goal. One game required
overtime and another a shootout. The most goals posted in the season series
have been three, done twice by Boston. Tuukka Rask is a logical choice to start
in net for the B’s. He has shown little trouble in facing the Sens, beating
them in each of his four career starts.
A victory for Boston will lock up a playoff spot and put
them in a position to leapfrog the Canadiens pending the result of their game
against the Flyers. Patrice Bergeron is close to making a return to the lineup
and Swedish phenom Carl Soderberg will be joining the club come Tuesday. The
pieces seem to falling into place for the B’s just as they approach postseason
play. Picking up a win would serve as an important building block with only six
games remaining after Monday.
Projected line combinations:
Paille-Krejci-Horton
Lucic-Campel-Jagr
Caron-Kelly-Seguin
Daugavins-Peverley-Thornton
Hamilton-Chara
Ference-Seidenberg
Bartkowski-Boychuk
Rask/Khudobin
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