The Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers will meet for the second time this season when they take the ice at TD Garden tonight (7:00 PM ET, NESN). The Bruins took the first meeting 3-0 on Deecember 1st in a game that saw Tim Thomas stop 41 shots en route to his fourth shutout of the season.
The Bruins are looking for their third straight win and to extend their points streak to six games (a streak that began against the Flyers). The B's are coming off of a 5-2 home win over the New York Islanders on Thursday. Tuukka Rask was the starter on Thursday night and was the only goalie present for an optional skate this morning, so look for Tim Thomas to return to the Bruins' net tonight.The B's scrapped their morning skate at the last minute today. Only Marco Sturm, Daniel Paille, and Tyler Seguin were on the ice along with Rask.Seguin is expected to play tonight, but presumable just wanted to get a skate in this morning.
At the other end of the ice, the Flyers are finishing up a three-game road trip. Philly has won three of their last four games (3-0-1) and are currently one point back of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the top of the Atlantic Division. The Flyers were last in action on Thursday when they downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Danny Briere has been on fire as of late for the Flyers. The Flyers right winger has four goals in his last four games and is currently fifth in the NHL with 16 tallies on the season. Rhode Island native Brian Boucher was the first goalie off the ice for the Flyers at the morning skate and is expected to get the start tonight. Daniel Carcillo could return to the lineup tonight for the Flyers after missing some time with a knee injury. Carcillo has been ready for game action for about a week now, but has had to work to crack a crowded Flyer lineup. Based on the morning skate it looks like the Flyers will opt for some muscle in the lineup by dressing Carcillo and Jody Shelley. Nikolay Zherdev will likely be scratched from the lineup tonight. Zherdev stayed on the ice late for extra work.
Notes:
- Tim Thomas is 8-2-1 lifetime against Philadelphia.
- The Bruins are -135 favorites tonight.
- Expect the Flyers to put a lot of shots on goal tonight. The Flyers throw a lot of rubber at the net. Philadelphia is second in the league in shots per game with 33.2 per game. The B's also allow 33.7 shots on goal per game (26th in NHL).
- The Bruins need to take advanatage of their power play opportunities when they get them and chances are they will get a few opportunities tonight. The Flyers lead the league in minor penalties with 150 two-minute infractions in 30 games.
- AUDIO: Claude Julien talking with the media this morning
- Their are rumors that Marco Sturm could be traded this weekend, including reports that the LA Kings deal could be back on.
- Tonight's game airs on NESN and can be heard on 98.5 FM The Sports Hub.
- The Public Skate open thread gets started at 6:30 PM ET.
- I'll will be getting into the holiday spirits tonight, so do not expect a recap until tomorrow...or maybe early afternoon.
- For more on tonight's game, check out Broad Street Hockey