Preview: Bruins look to continue their dominance over Hurricanes

Lines, injuries and updates for tonight's matchup.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Preview: Bruins look to continue their dominance over Hurricanes
Zuma Press

Tonight, the Boston Bruins will host the Carolina Hurricanes in what shall be an intriguing matchup going back to last season’s Round 3 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This game will start shortly after 7:00 PM EST, and can be followed on NESN, and 98.5 The Sports Hub for my fellow Canadian and American followers. 

This past Sunday night, the Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens by the final score of 3-1, after scoring all of their goals in the 3rd period. Montreal had the 1-0 lead going into the 3rd, until forwards David Pastrnak, David Backes, and Jake DeBrusk all scored in relatively short succession. It was Backes’ 1st goal of the season, since coming back from a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for a month. It definitely was the “feel-good” story for Backes. David Pastrnak scored his league-leading 25th goal of the season, and currently remains the NHL’s top goal-scorer. According to NHL Public Relations, Pastrnak was the first player in Bruins franchise history to score 25 goals for the first time in nearly 45 years. Phil Esposito last reached that mark on December 15, 1974 (25G, 29A = 54 points scored in only 30 games played). Sunday night’s win was the Bruins 7th consecutive victory, as the team just continues to find ways to win games in the 3rd period, regardless of the deficit they find themselves in. Furthermore, the Bruins also extended their point streak to 11 games (8-0-3), and have so far entered the third month of the regular season as the only team remaining in the NHL without a regulation loss at home (11-0-4). 

Backup goaltender, Jaro Halak will likely get the start tonight between the pipes vs. Carolina after incumbent, Tuukka Rask played so brilliantly this past Saturday night, as he stopped 28/29 shots vs. Montreal. Halak on the other hand, played his most recent game back on Friday, November 29th against the New York Rangers. Halak stopped 26/28 shots, as the Bruins overcame a 3-goal deficit to defeat the New York Rangers by the final score of 3-2 in overtime.


Here's how the boys are expected to line up tonight:




Yesterday afternoon, general manager Don Sweeney announced that defenseman John Moore was recalled from the Providence Bruins of the AHL from his brief LTI conditioning loan. Forward Brendan Gaunce was sent back down to Providence as a result of Moore’s pending return. It remains to be seen whether Moore will play tonight, but having him active again will definitely boost the defensive depth of this team. Forward Patrice Bergeron remains out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but skated with the team on Sunday.

*Article written by Travis Hauer