Preview: Bruins look to reset, welcome Kraken for first time

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Davy Jones Locker Room

Know your enemy

• 14-26-4, 32PTS, last in Pacific Division
• Jared McCann: 39GP, 18G, 10A, 28PTS; Jordan Eberle: 42GP, 12G, 13A, 25PTS; Yanni Gourde: 36GP, 1G, 13A, 23PTS
• Chris Driedger: 3-6-0, 3.18 GAA, .896 save percentage; Philipp Grubauer: 11-17-4, 3.20 GAA, .885 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins welcome the Seattle Kraken to the TD Garden tonight for the first time in both franchises’ history! This game was also originally the B’s only February home game, but thanks to schedule changes, it’s the first of four.
• It is also the first of the two club’s regular-season meetings. The second and final will be on February 24 in Seattle.
• The Bruins will look to bounce back after a poor showing in Dallas on Sunday which capped off a 1-1-1 road trip. They were outscored 11-6 in the three games and allowed two power-play goals. The B’s might have come away with three points, but their 6-1 loss to the Dallas Stars ended the trip on a sour note.
• There’s not much to highlight from the Bruins’ last game on January 30 against the Stars. Craig Smith scored the team’s lone goal to at least avoid a shutout, but that was it in the solely Stars’ offensive. Linus Ullmark was pulled after allowing four goals and Jeremy Swayman finished the game.
• Although the road trip wasn’t the best, the Bruins had a good January. They were 11-4-1 overall with a 7-3-0 home record and 4-1-1 on the road. They outscored their opponents 57-51 in January’s 16 games.
• The Kraken were 4-8-0 last month, dropping the first five games of the new year which continued a nine-game losing streak. Seattle did, however, fair better in the second half of January, posting a 4-2-0 record that included one shootout and one overtime win.
• Seattle is currently on a four-game road trip. They last played on January 30 against the New York Rangers, dropping 3-2. The Kraken trailed 2-0 through the beginning of the second period. McCann scored to cut their deficit in the middle frame, while Gourde added a power-play tally for the tie late in the third. The Rangers scored with 34 seconds left to hand the Kraken the loss. Grubauer made 21 saves.
• Grubauer has started the last four games for the Kraken. He’s 2-2-0 with a .897 save percentage averaged in those games.
• After Sunday’s game, Bruce Cassidy said it was “highly unlikely” Tuukka Rask would be back in net before the All-Star Break, as the netminder is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
• With Rask’s return bumpier than expected, Ullmark has made three consecutive starts before being pulled against the Stars. Cassidy has not announced if it will be Ullmark or Swayman in net against the Kraken.

See ya tonight!