Screw getting up early to fight the crowds at the mall. Sleep in late, fix yourself a big plate of leftovers, and watch the B's take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins will take the ice at TD Garden against the Carolina Hurricanes at noon for their annual Friday after Thanksgiving game.
The Bruins are coming off of a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers down in the Sunshine State on Wednesday night in a game that saw Mark Recchi reach the 1,500 point milestone. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes will try to snap a 3-game losing streak (0-2-1) after dropping a 3-2 decision to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes are off to 9-10-2 start and are currently in 4th place in the Southeast Division. Eric Staal, who leads the Canes in goals (10), assists (14) and points (24) has been relied upon heavily by Carolina to create offense. Staal has factored into 37.5% of the Canes goals this season (24 of 64). In goal, Cam Ward has made 17 starts posting a 9-7-1 record with a 2.84 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Notes:
- For the uninformed, Causeway Day is the day after Thanksgiving when both the Bruins and Celtics play a home game on the same day in the same building. Hearty Boston sports fans will go to both games and spend the afternoon bar-hopping the watering holes around TD Garden. It is a true test of Boston fandom and liver health. This year the Celtics and Raptors have the nightcap. For more on that game, head over to CelticsBlog.
- Besides Marc Savard and Marco Sturm, there are no injuries to report on either side.
- Cam Ward is expected to start in goal for the Hurricanes. Cam Ward's wife gave birth to the couple's first child on Tuesday. Hopefully for the Bruins' sake, Ward has been getting little to no sleep.
- The Hurricanes acquired forward Ryan Carter from the Anaheim Duck in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers.
- The Hurricanes placed Patrick O'Sullivan on waivers this week. O'Sullivan was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild.
- The Bruins will wear their third jerseys today. The B's debuted their black third jerseys two years ago on Black Friday.
- The game starts at noon and can be seen on NESN. 98.5 The Sports Hub has the radio call.
- The Public Skate open thread gets started at 11:30 AM ET.
- For more on the game, check out Canes Country
Cool video from Mazz and Boston.com about a Bruins-Celtics doubleheader including some time-lapsed footage of the transformation from ice to parquet: