Bruins Vs. Devils Preview
The Bruins are back in action tonight against the New Jersey Devils and are looking for their third straight win. The Bruins rebounded a bit during their West Coast trip and were playing good hockey at the end of it. The Devils have come out of the gates hot this year and are first place in the Metropolitan division. The Devils are coming off an overtime win against the Wild on Monday night.
Watching the Boston Bruins has been frustrating this season and their play is woefully inconsistent. Playing two great games against top teams like LA and San Jose and having a garbage one against the lowly Ducks. It’s painful to watch a team show flashes of great play and then put on a poor performance or vice versa.
The Bruins West Coast trip was a success as they came out of it 2-1 and are now riding a two game win streak. After losing to the Ducks I was worried about a winless trip but they pulled it together against the Kings and Sharks. One major factor for those wins was the play of Anton Khudobin who started both of those wins and will start tonight’s matchup against the Devils. Khudobin has outplayed Rask so far this year and sits at 5-0-2 with a 2.17 GAA and a .935 SV%. Cassidy is doing the right thing giving Khudobin more starts as Rask hasn’t figured himself out in net yet.
Simply put the team plays better in front of Khudobin right now and maybe the youth is starting to feel comfortable playing at the NHL level, DeBrusk and Cehlarik were key pieces to the Bruins recent wins. Also, Spooner is set to return to the lineup and will be playing wing alongside Nash and Acciari. Spooner’s return should help create some scoring depth and should help the power play get a little more consistent. Matt Grzelcyk will also be put on the third defensive pairing with Miller.
The Devils have been one of the league’s biggest surprises this year and have the fourth most points total in the NHL. Their youth is paying off for them as players like Butcher and Hischier have had huge roles for them. Hischier has been hot as of late with 5 points in his last 5 games. No surprise Taylor Hall is leading the team in points with 21. Corey Schneider will get the call in goal and looks to keep his good season rolling as he’s 8-4-2 on the young season. The Devils did lose Kyle Palmieri to a broken foot on Monday and he will be out at least five weeks. Palmieri is a big loss for the Devils he had contributed 9 points so far this season.
This is the first of three meetings between these teams, The Devils are looking to continue their strong start to the year while the Bruins are hoping to work their way back to playoff contention. The puck drop is at 7:00 and will be broadcast on NESN be sure to tune in.
Written By: Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith4386 )