With a visit north of the border to the Ottawa Senators, though, the Bruins have a chance to get it back. Second place will be on the line Monday night at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.
When And Where
Monday, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Records
Bruins (16-11-7, 39 points, third place in Northeast Division, sixth place in Eastern Conference)
Senators (18-13-4, 40 points, second place in Northeast Division, fifth place in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This is the third meeting between the Bruins and Senators this season — the B’s won each of the first two in shootouts. Patrice Bergeron gave Boston its lone shootout goal for a 4-3 win in Ottawa on Oct. 24, and Michael Ryder had the only shootout tally for the B’s in their 4-3 home win on Nov. 28.
Skinny
After a down season in 2008-09 that saw the Sens miss the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, new coach Cory Clouston appears to have the team back on track. They’re back in second place in the Northeast Division and look well on their way to the postseason. They’ve still yet to prove, however, that they can hold their own against their Northeast rivals.
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
Marco Sturm–Marc Savard–Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Byron Bitz
Steve Begin–Vladimir Sobotka–Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Johnny Boychuk
Andy Wozniewski–Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick–Adam McQuaid
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Senators
Forwards
Milan Michalek–Mike Fisher–Daniel Alfredsson
Jarkko Ruutu–Chris Kelly–Ryan Shannon
Alexei Kovalev–Peter Regin–Jonathan Cheechoo
Josh Hennessy–Jesse Winchester
Defense
Chris Phillips–Anton Volchenkov
Filip Kuba–Erik Karlsson
Chris Campoli–Matt Carkner
Goalies
Brian Elliott
Mike Brodeur
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 7-8-4 with a 2.48 GAA and .914 save percentage. Thomas has three shutouts.
Tuukka Rask is 9-3-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .933 save percentage. Rask has one shutout.
Senators
Brian Elliott is 9-8-3 with a 2.70 GAA and a .902 save percentage. Elliott has two shutouts.
Mike Brodeur is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .957 save percentage. He made his NHL debut on Saturday night, stopping 22 of 23 shots in a 4-1 win.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
The Bruins are 6-2-1 within their division this season.
They have allowed 16 power-play goals, fewest in the NHL.
Marc Savard is fourth in the NHL with a shooting percentage of 21.6.
Tim Thomas has manned the Bruins’ goal in five overtime games this season.
Tuukka Rask is fifth in the NHL with a .714 points percentage.
Shawn Thornton has 61 penalty minutes this season.
Patrice Bergeron has 20 points in 29 career games against Ottawa.
Marco Sturm has 31 career games played against the Senators. He has 13 goals and 16 assists.
Senators
The Senators are 13-4-3 at home this season.
They have scored 21 power-play goals, third-fewest in the league.
Matt Carkner is third in the NHL with 92 penalty minutes.
Milan Michalek has two shorthanded goals, tied for most in the NHL.
Daniel Alfredsson leads the Senators with 31 points.
Mike Fisher has 15 goals, second on the team to Michalek’s 16.
Jason Spezza has 14 assists, second on the team to Alfredsson’s 22.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Derek Morris is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Mark Stuart is out four to six weeks because of a broken sternum suffered in Monday night’s game against Philadelphia.
Dennis Wideman did not travel with the team over the weekend but could return on Monday. He is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Senators
Pascal Leclaire is out with a fractured cheekbone.
Nick Foligno is on injured reserve with lower-body injuries.
Jason Spezza is out until March with a knee injury.
This Date in Bruins History
In 2002, the Bruins halt their season-high five-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, going up 3-1 early before the Florida Panthers score twice in the game’s final minute to force a 3-3 tie. Ivan Novoseltsev and Viktor Kozlov each score with less than 60 seconds to play in regulation, forcing a stalemate that would remain unbroken through overtime.
Overheard
“We have guys who are paid to produce and are known to produce. As long as they don’t produce, we’re going to be struggling that way.”
–Claude Julien, in Sunday’s Boston Herald, on the Bruins’ four-game winless streak
Press Box
Bruins
The Bruins fell asleep against Toronto.
Tuukka Rask made a key mistake.
Johnny Boychuk lays down the law.
Senators
Mike Brodeur had a stellar debut.
Jason Spezza is on the shelf.
Get to know Mike Fisher.
NHL
The Penguins won another shootout.
Alex Ovechkin came to life.
The best and the worst of NHL fans.
Outlook
If there were ever a good time for the Bruins to snap out of their losing funk and get back on track, now would be that time. This will be a pivotal test for both teams, as each tries to prove its muster against a close divisional rival. This game should set the pace for the Eastern Conference playoff race — the Bruins may be banged up and feeling down, but now’s the time to climb back up. Let’s see if they’ve got a win in them.
