Bruins vs. Lightning Preview: Let's do this for real this time

Just the Facts:

Game time: 7:30 PM EST, Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, FL. TV Broadcast: New England Sports Network (NESN), NHL Network. Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Rival SB Nation Site: Raw Charge (Game preview forthcoming)

Records: Bruins (9-2-2) vs. Lightning (8-6-1)

Get Tickets Here: Boston Bruins Tickets

Projected Lightning Lines:

Malone - Stamkos - St. Louis
Conacher - Lecavalier - Purcell
Pouliot - Pyatt - Labrie
Hall - Thompson - Crombeen

Salo - Hedman
Brewer - Carle
Lee - Aulie

Lindback
Garon

Projected Bruins Lines:

Lucic - Krejci - Horton
Marchand - Bergeron - Seguin
Bourque - Kelly - Peverley
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

Chara - Boychuk
Seidenberg - Hamilton
Ference - McQuaid

Rask
Khudobin

Preview:

FINALLY, we get to see a Bruins game against the Lightning, 12 days after the first one was initially scheduled and subsequently cancelled by a winter storm named after a fish. So weird.

Let's talk about the Lightning for a moment - specifically, let's get collectively furious at the Benoit Pouliot situation. While the Bruins' third line woes are well known and extrapolated upon, former Bruins third liner Pouliot is seeing a lot of success in Tampa - he has five goals and eight assists in 15 games. Benoit Pouliot WOULD CURRENTLY BE THE BRUINS' LEADING SCORER. And okay, yes, Tampa has played two more games than Boston, but still - the only Bruins player with more than 10 points is David Krejci.

Raw Charge did a great article about Pouliot yesterday, talking about how he's increased his work in front of the net. It's not really a huge surprise that Pouliot is blossoming into an incredibly productive player; he was, after all, the fourth overall pick in his draft year, after putting up 60+ points in his two OHL seasons. The Bruins made a huge mistake trading him for essentially nothing this past offseason, especially for the money he's making now. Imagine what a Pouliot-Kelly-Peverley line would look like on this current team?

On the Bruins' side, it seems that the seven players absent due to flu-like symptoms are all back today, as is Milan Lucic, so lines should remain the same - which thankfully means no more Chris Bourque on the top line. I don't care how well he thinks he's playing, the milkman's son on the first line gives me the yips. Keep him on the third line. How soon until Jordan Caron can play, again?

Never forget:

This is like going back and looking at pictures of that ex that you really didn't want to break things off with but it just went that way anyways. Ughhhhhhhhh.