Preview: The Bruins are back home for match-up against the Penguins

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: TD Garden - Boston, Mass.

How to follow: NESN, ESPN+, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: PensBurgh

Know your enemy

• 29-12-5, 63 points, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division
• Goals: Jake Guentzel, 20
• Assists: Evgeni Malkin, 32
• Points: Malkin, 47
• Goalie: Tristan Jarry, 16-6-1, 2.12 GAA, .930 save percentage

Game notes

• The Bruins come back home after going 1-1-1 on the road. The trip saw an absurd shootout loss, elbow to the head, and a blown lead, among other things. It was a wild one. Let’s hit the refresh button at home, please.
• The Bruins and Penguins already played once this season, and will play each other again on Sunday afternoon. In the previous game back in early November, the Bruins were up 3-0 and ended up blowing that lead and going behind, allowing 4 straight goals. They responded by scoring 3 in the third period and won 6-4. It was a weird game.
• Sidney Crosby returned to the Pens’ lineup on Tuesday and had four points, obviously. Bruins will have to watch out for him and Malkin, who notched three points in their last game. The Pens are on a four-game winning streak with strong performances from Jarry in net. Tonight won’t be easy for either team, as both are at the top, or next-to-the-top, of their divisions.
• Although the B’s were blanked by the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the team has seen a slight boost in secondary scoring as of late and, aside from the Columbus game, has been racking up power-play goals. I’d expect more of that to continue tonight.
• Expect Jaroslav Halak in net after Tuukka Rask suffered a concussion against the Blue Jackets. Halak is 10-5-6 this season, only appearing in seven fewer games than Rask. Bruce Cassidy’s decision to play both pretty evenly definitely helps in times like these with the main goaltender down. However, it’s certainly a bit of a concern that Halak is 1-2-2 in his last 5 games.
• With Ritchie put on waivers and no one called up as of Wednesday night, it looks like David Backes or Par Lindholm will be in. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone gets officially summoned from Providence tomorrow afternoon but is already at practice tomorrow morning.
• In an unfortunate bit of timing, the Bruins were planning on holding a pregame ceremony tonight honoring Rask for his 500 career games. The team hasn’t announced that it’s moving it. It’s the first of three upcoming ceremonies for career milestones, with Zdeno Chara and Jaroslav Halak to be celebrated in upcoming games.

Let’s do this!