PREVIEW: Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues, 8PM ET

Just the Facts

When: 8:00 PM

Where: Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO

How to follow: NBCSN, TVAS

Rival SBN site: St. Louis Game Time

Know your Enemy

• Brayden Schenn, 25G-35A-60PTS; Vladimir Tarasenko, 27G-31A-58PTS; Jaden Schwartz, 20G-31A-51PTS
• Carter Hutton, 16-7-3, 2.02 GAA, .934 Sv%; Jake Allen, 23-21-2, 2.79 GAA, .905 Sv%

Game notes

• David Pastrnak has been performing without his centerman, Patrice Bergeron - netting 12 points in his last 8 games. Brad Marchand is still otherworldly, averaging over 3 points per 60 games, though since he hasn’t gotten any OT winners in the last few games. IS HE OLD YET? (No.)
• After beginning the month of March with five straight wins, the B’s are losing that necessary edge above average NHL teams. They’re 3-3 in their last six games and, though they’ll all to the party line, the Bruins miss having Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Rick Nash, David Backes, and Jake DeBrusk. The absence of three top forwards and the top defensive pair could be deeply concerning a week or two from now if the major players aren’t healthy yet.
• St. Louis has won four in their last five, blowing out the Los Angeles Kings a week ago and scoring more than four goals in the three wins since. Boston and St. Louis are comparable in defensive stability, both averaging about 2 goals against at even strength, but Boston’s offense is a bit more potent and averaging about a half of a goal more per game than the Blues.
• The Ryan Donato era has begun with a bang, as he earned his first point - a goal - of his NHL career, and tacked on two more (both assists) later in the game. The adrenaline worked for the kid, so let’s see how he does in games 2, 3, and 4. (Relive it here with the GIF collection.)
• As Shawn so eloquently put it in his recap, “The Bruins gave up just 28 shot attempts at 5v5, 17 of which were shots on goal, totaling just 0.92 expected goals.” Being expected to barely allow a goal in a 5-4 game might seem a bit odd, but the numbers point to a somewhat strong defensive effort overall against Columbus on Monday. Let’s hope that trend continues - and improves once the top pairing is active again.

NEVER FORGET

Enjoy some vintage hockey footage, brought to you by all these finely-dressed hockey fans.