Bruins gunning for 4th straight win in Minnesota

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Nov 25, 2009 10:00 AM EST in Game Previews

The Bruins will be looking to extend their win streak to 4 games tonight when they take the ice against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul. The Wild are off to a disappointing 8-12-2 start but have been playing well at home, compiling a 6-3-0 record at the Xcel Energy Center.

Tim Thomas is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, so don't be surprised to see Tuukka Rask get his fifth consecutive start tonight. SB Nation's injury widget (below) has Thomas' injury listed as a hand injury, while Covers.com has it listed a "lower body injury". The Bruins are not exactly the most forthcoming with injury information, so the nature of the injury is anyone's guess.

Know Your Enemy

Minnesota Wild (8-12-2)

Head Coach: Todd Richards

Leading Goal Scorer:

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Andrew Brunette	8	9	17	-1	6

Goaltending:

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Niklas Backstrom	19	1128	8	9			50	2.66	551	501	.909	0

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Josh Harding	4	199	0	3			13	3.92	86	73	.849	0

Injury Report

Boston Bruins Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Thomas	hand	11/24/2009

Minnesota Wild Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chuck Kobasew	other-excused	11/24/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Pierre-Marc Bouchard	concussion	10/04/2009
Petr Sykora	concussion	11/09/2009

Notes:

- November has been "Tuukka Time". Tuukka Rask is 4-0-1 in November.

- Blake Wheeler (Robbinsdale, MN) and Mark Stuart (Rochester, MN) are back in their home state.

- Former Bruins Chuck Kobasew and Shane Hnidy are on roster for Minnesota.

- Minnesota Twins catcher and AL MVP Joe Mauer is scheduled to drop the puck for a ceremonial face-off before the game.

- The Bruins are 1-8-0 lifetime vs. Minnesota

- Money Line: Boston -140 Minnesota +120

- Former Boston Globe sports writer Chris Snow is the Minnesota Wild's Director of hockey Operations.

- For more on tonight's game from a Minnesota Wild fan perspective, check out Hockey Wilderness

- Game starts at 8:00. Public Skate (open thread) starts right here at 7:30.

Today's Obligatory Embarrassing Wild Fan YouTube Video

You better watch out when this dude drops his Isotoners.

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Comments

Yo, the State of Hockey anthem is hokey as hell but I love it. That guy is pretty ridiculous.

Other notes:
Blake Wheeler is actually from Plymouth, MN.
The Wild retired jersey #1 for “Wild Fans.” I might have a #1 jersey. Maybe.

The link for Hockey Wilderness is: http://www.hockeywilderness.com/

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 10:09 AM EST reply actions

I went by his place of birth. Don’t ever correct me again.

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Helping of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Nov 25, 2009 4:39 PM EST up reply actions

I will correct you when I have conflicting information.

Also, why did you go by his place of birth?

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 6:20 PM EST up reply actions

I just went with what was listed on the Bruins roster. I didn’t feel like researching his entire childhood for a throw-away line in a game preview.

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Helping of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Nov 25, 2009 6:42 PM EST up reply actions

I looked it up during the blues game when he was chatting with Erik Johnson.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions

He went to Wayzata Senior High for a year before moving on to Breck School.

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 6:46 PM EST up reply actions

No really I am super-pumped for this matchup. Here’s to a Bruins overtime win!

p.s. if you want to learn more than you ever wanted to know about this matchup check out my game preview.

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 12:50 PM EST reply actions

Thomas

Read that he broke his hand during PIttsburgh game

by Pie McKenzie on Nov 25, 2009 1:45 PM EST reply actions

Apparently not hurt enough that he sits out of games entirely, he just backs up. Huh.

Join me on the Hockey Blog Adventure! (or Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)

by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Nov 25, 2009 2:07 PM EST up reply actions

yeah, seems like "broken hand"...

(or any broken bone) can be a pretty deceptive descriptor for an injury. I’m no doctor, but I’m guessing the degree to which a bone can be damaged is pretty broad.

by jctsai12 on Nov 25, 2009 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

good point

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Helping of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Nov 25, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions

having recently broken a finger playing football and having continued to play with it broken, i would definitely feel comfortable playing goalie with it

by Pie McKenzie on Nov 26, 2009 12:14 PM EST up reply actions