The Bruins will get their first look at The House that Mario Lemiuex's Lies Built when they take the ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at the Consol Energy Center. The Bruins are looking to bounce back from a rough weekend that saw them lose back-to-back games and the services of first line center David Krejci. The Penguins snapped a 2-game skid of their own with a 4-3 shootout win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night.
The highly-touted Penguins are off to a mediocre 7-7-1 start. Not surprisingly, Sidney Crosby has led the way offensively for the Pens with 19 points (9-10-19) in 15 games. Marc-Andre Fleury was expected to carry the load in net for Dan Blysma's team, but has stumbled out of the gate, posting a 1-6-0 record and a 3.55 GAA. Brent Johnson, who slated to be the backup, has stepped up for Pittsburgh during Fleury's slump. Johnson has 6-1-1 record with a 1.63 GAA and .943 save percentage.
The Bruins will be without David Krejci, who suffered what is being described as a moderate concussion during Saturday night's 2-1 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues. In the wake of Krejci's injury and the possibility that Michael Ryder may not be able to go tonight after cutting his practice session short yesterday, the B's called up forward Jamie Arniel from the Providence Bruins on an emergency basis. Arniel has 9 points (6-3-9) in 12 games for the Baby B's this season.
Notes:
- Brent Johnson (illness) and Evgeni Malkin (lingering injury) sat out for part of Monday's practice, but both players were back on the ice at the Penguins' practice rink on Tuesday.
- It will be interesting to see if Claude Julien gives Tuukka Rask back-to-back starts to let him get into a groove or if he will go back to Tim Thomas tonight.
- "Disco" Dan Bylsma has hinted that Johnson will get the start in goal. According to Rob Rossi of The Pittsburgh Tribune, Captain Sidney Crosby and the Bylsma disagree over the coach's handling of struggling goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
- Daniel Paille has been a healthy scratch since the second game of the season after dressing for the season opener in Prague. Paille will now likely be called upon to fill in for his injured teammates and Murph says that Paille is ready to go.
- The Penguins are 2-4-0 in their new home rink.
- One area where both teams have excelled this season is on the PK. Pittsburgh ranks 6th in the league on the penalty kill (87.5%). The Bruins lead the NHL with 92.9%.
- At last check, the Penguins were -125 favorites tonight
- The game starts at 7:00 PM ET. The game can be seen on NESN, NHL Network (U.S., out of market), and RIS (Canada, French Language). The game can be heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
- Public Skate (open thread) gets underway at 6:30 PM ET.
- For more on tonight's game, check out PensBurgh