Bruins vs. Ducks 1/8/23 PREVIEW

Just the Facts:

The Time: 8:30 EST! (thank god)

The Place: Honda Center, Anaheim, California

Place to Watch: NESN, A bunch of regional SportsNets (1, Ontario, East, Pacific)

Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub

An Opposing Viewpoint: The laws on independent contractors all but froze Anaheim Calling out of existence, so I’ll point you towards the Forever Mighty podcast, who has alumnus from AC.

Know Your Enemy:

• Trevor Zegras might be the highlight reel player, but it’s Troy Terry leading the Ducks in points with 33 in 40, and has slowly come into his own as a defensive forward...though he’s not getting that much help so uh....whoops.
• Both Terry and Adam Henrique hold the team’s lead in goals, which is 12.
• On the man-advantage, Mason McTavish has distinguished himself as a threat: having 10 power play points in 40 games.
• John Gibson has at long last pulled himself out of the depths of hell from early in the season, but that means he’s currently nursing a .901 SV% and a losing record. Did you know the Ducks are deep in the hunt for Connor Bedard? Because you should.

But before any of that, here’s a highlight reel and some game notes on last night’s game against the Sharks:

Game Notes:

• Your TOI Leader was Charlie McAvoy, who had 21:43 logged last night.
• The Bruins had a very typically 2022-23 game in that they started pretty good with one hell of a Marchand goal, got some depth scoring, and then sat back a bit; particularly in the 2nd period where they made unforced error after unforced error, allowing the Sharks to tie it late in the second. Thankfully, David Pastrnak is once again a goalscoring engine, getting the B’s up 3-2 on the power play, and then got a miraculously good pass from Bergeron to seal the game. Veeery fortunate work.
• Not the best night for the third defense pairing, who got cored at even strength by the Sharks. Gonna need them to pick up the pace tonight.
• Linus Ullmark is breaking all sorts of silly records and this .933 SV% performance somehow dropped his season save percentage and GAA. Even a fantastic game like this somehow cut into his absolutely unreal season. He’s not human, he’s simply different from you or I.
• Charlie McAvoy picked up his 100th point in the NHL last night, and we humbly congratulate him!

And now, onto tonight’s Game Preview:

The Ducks aren’t very good. Some of that’s on purpose; they know the future is not too far away, and if they can get Bedard they’ll hopefully be a team worth watching in the not too distant future. Some of it...is their roster as it stands which is barely capable of much most nights, but they still have a bunch of individually talented youngsters and a John Gibson, so if given the right opportunities, they can still give you fits.

The Bruins meanwhile have been nearly perfect in their California road trip in terms of results, though maybe not in terms of play. The first 40 minutes still has it’s warts, and the last 20 minutes are lights out efforts for Boston; but the chance to finish this road trip undefeated should be a tantalizing one for Coach Monty and the team before they come home for a long weekend’s worth of games.

The Road trip ends tonight and at a reasonable hour! Let’s find out what happens at 8:30!