PREVIEW

Just the Facts

Who: The Boston Bruins welcome the Dallas Stars to Boston.

What: Teams with similar positions in the standings square off in their first matchup of the season.

When: 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

How to watch: SNE, SNO, SNP, NESN, FS-SW

Rival SBN site: Defending Big D

Know Your Enemy

Dallas is having a bit of a resurgence, riding a three-game winning streak that includes beating the defending Cup champion Washington Capitals on Saturday night and over the resurgent Toronto Maple Leafs last Thursday. Though they have the ability to be a top-heavy team by putting stars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin together, they’re going with the balanced approach by moving Benn to the second line with the shell of Jason Spezza and putting relative newcomers Devin Shore and Mattias Janmark on Seguin’s wings.

Team Leaders

Goals: Jamie Benn, 6

Assists: Tyler Seguin, 11

Points: Seguin 14

Other notes: Noted 2x league defector Alexander Radulov was sent back to Dallas to deal with an ongoing lower-body injury, and has missed half of October and all November games thus far.

Game Notes

• Boston is still dealing with injuries on the back end, as no return in sight for Charlie McAvoy, Kevan Miller, or Matt Grzelcyk. Jeremy Lauzon is filling in nicely - exactly how Grizz got his start not all that long ago.
• As recounted after the loss to Nashville, the Bruins’ inability to get any scoring from their depth is really hurting the team’s chances to win on any given night. Ryan Donato had his own troubles, but it really comes down to everyone being able to chip in somehow. David Backes made his return against Nashville and figures to make an impact in some way.
• Anders Bjork and Jake DeBrusk should - SHOULD - have at least a shot on goal, something they were lacking against Nashville, despite both skaters playing significant time on the power play.
• Amazing how quiet everyone has been about Jaroslav Halak’s successes, no? Wait, it hasn’t been quiet? Ah well, Tuukka Rask will be a great backup option when he signs his Pekka Rinne style extension in a couple years. Halak4Prez.