Bruins Vs Senators Preview
The Boston Bruins are back in action tonight following the holiday break and they have been on fire over recent weeks. Winning games left and right and currently riding a four game win streak. They face off against the Ottawa Senators who have been brutal as of late and have suffered three straight losses. The Bruins in their last 10 have gone 7-2-1, while the Senators have gone 2-6-2. The Bruins will likely have a chip on their shoulder after the Senators eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs last season. This is the first meeting of the season between these two teams.
What’s been the key to the Bruins’ recent turn around? Well Rask has returned to playing like a number one goalie and is putting up huge numbers again to backstop the team to victories. The Bruins are playing their structured defensive game as well and giving other teams limited time and space in the offensive zone. The top line of Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak has been firing on all cylinders as well they’ve contributed 12 points all together in the last five games. Good news on the injury front as well, both McQuaid and Krejci are skating in morning sessions and McQuaid is healthy enough to play but will sit out tonight. Krejci won’t play tonight but will be on the upcoming road trip and should resume play by the weekend. Rask will get the nod between the pipes tonight and Khudobin will start tomorrow’s game against the Capitals.
The Ottawa Senators are a mess and have the third worst record in the NHL. This season was meant to be hopeful as last year the Sens shocked most fans by making it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. Defensive woes and goaltending struggles have plagued the Sens this season, their weak defensive core has been unable to get the job done and has inflated their goalies numbers as a result. Anderson will be starting in net tonight and is still their number one goalie. Offensively they have been lackluster at best, their team drops dramatically after their first two lines and two lines isn’t enough to get it done in the NHL at this day and age. Even the addition of Matt Duchene hasn’t fixed their problem, he only has 5 points in his 20 games as a Sen.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 and the Bruins look to keep rolling through the holiday season and stomp out any hopes of the Sens crawling out of the bottom of the standings. Rask and Anderson will face off in goal and Rask looks to stay hot and Anderson looks to rebound from an abysmal season.
Written By Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith4386)