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Preview: Bruins look to get back on track in Winnipeg

Two losses aren't cause for alarm, right?

By Cup of Chowder Staff
NHL: Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 8 PM

Where: Bell MTS Place - Winnipeg, Manitoba

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Arctic Ice Hockey

Know your enemy

  • Goals: Mark Scheifele, 32
  • Assists: Blake Wheeler, 65
  • Points: Blake Wheeler, 84
  • Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck, 28-20-2, 3.01 GAA, .909 save percentage

Game notes

  • If the Bruins lose tonight, will we officially hit “slumping” time? It’s hard to complain about two losses after their recent point streak, but when you look at how poorly the team played against Columbus and how uneven the tail end of the streak was, it’s not hard to imagine fans running out of patience pretty quickly.
  • The Blake Wheeler trade back in 2011 was the right move at the time, and is only included in “BAD DEAL” lists as hindsight. It is nowhere near as bad at the Tyler Seguin trade. I have spoken.
  • The Jets were penciled in to challenge for the Western Conference crown before the season, and while they remain a good team, it’s been a bit of an uneven season in Winnipeg. The Jets are in a dogfight with Nashville for 1st in the Central Division, but are some 10 points behind the Western Conference’s top teams, who reside in the Pacific.
  • Winnipeg suffered a brutal loss last time out, giving up the winning goal to Joe Pavelski with just four seconds left in the third period. That didn’t sit well with UMass Lowell product Connor Hellebuyck, who, like his team, has had an uneven season.
  • Boston native Kevin Hayes, who was linked to the Bruins at the trade deadline, has 5 points in 7 games since being dealt to Winnipeg.
  • The Bruins will do some tinkering with their lineup again tonight. With Peter Cehlarik sent down and Paul Carey called up, it stands to reason that Carey may end up playing on David Krejci’s left. Trent Frederic is still here, so that would mean Charlie Coyle remains on Krejci’s right. Still, Bruce Cassidy may elect to shake things up after Tuesday night’s ugliness.
  • The Bruins rely heavily on their power play, which makes Torey Krug’s injury a pretty big deal. The PP simply looks more dangerous when Krug is out there, and against a high-powered offense like Winnipeg, you want all the scoring you can get.
  • Chris Wagner has been hot for the Bruins, with 3 goals in his last 5 games.