Just the Facts:
Game Time: 8:00 PM, CONSOL Energy Center.
TV Broadcast: NBCSN.
Radio Broadcast: 98.5 The Sports Hub
Rival SB Nation Site: PensBurgh
Season Record: Bruins: 19-15-6, 5th in Atlantic Division | Penguins: 24-10-5, 1st in Metropolitan Division
Pens Lines:
David Perron - Sidney Crosby - Steve Downie
Nick Spaling - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Chris Kunitz - Brandon Sutter - Beau Bennett
Andrew Ebbett - Marcel Goc - Craig Adams
Defensive Pairings:
Christian Ehrhoff - Kris Letang
Scott Harrington - Robert Bortuzzo
Rob Scuderi - Simon Despres
Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury, Thomas Greiss
IR: Pascal Dupuis, Paul Martin, Blake Comeau, Scott Wilson, Olli Maatta, Patric Hornqvist
Bruins Lines:
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Seth Griffith/ David Pastrnak (!)
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille - Gregory Campbell - Craig Cunningham
Defensive Pairings:
Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg - Adam McQuaid
Torey Krug - Kevan Miller
Goalies: Tuukka Rask, Niklas Svedberg
Game Notes:
- Both teams have suffered robust IR lists for most of the season. In an effort to kickstart offensive production, Pittsburgh acquired David Perron from Edmonton and Boston recalled AHL superstar David Pastrnak. What are the chances Pasta sees some real playing time? Absolute zero? At Tuesday's practice he skated on David Krejci's line with Milan Lucic and Seth Griffith. Left winger Perron has been practicing on Crosby's line. He and his right-hand shot will serve as Patric Hornqvist's power play replacement.
- Brand new Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs shares fan frustration with the state of the Bruins. On Tuesday he said "It's unacceptable the way this team has performed given the amount of time, money and effort that's been spent on this team." He said the season is a "complete failure" if the Bruins miss the playoffs. I expect to see a little more effort from the Bruins tonight because of his bluntness. This is no longer an IR issue or a slump, this is the 2014-2015 Boston Bruins and there are only so many chances to turn it around.
- Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury leads the league in shutouts with six. His .926 save percentage will challenge Boston's already struggling offense. At least Patrice Bergeron is still good at faceoffs this season, winning 59% to Sidney Crosby's 49.5%. (Bergeron has taken 890 faceoffs, Crosby with 738).
- The first rule of the loss against the Hurricanes club is you don't talk about the loss against the Hurricanes, but the Bruins were without a single shot on goal for the first 16:55 minutes of the entire game…against the Hurricanes. Tuukka Rask said "maybe mix in a couple beers before the game, relax the nerves. That might be the last option." What's on tap, boys?
NEVER FORGET:
When does it become unacceptable to brag about this? I'll milk it to my very last day. I'm going to retire in Pennsylvania just so I can ask people if they remember the time the Bruins swept the Pens.
Last Game in Fancy stats
The first rule of the loss against the Canes club is you don't talk about the loss against the Canes.