About the Bruins - 10-20-08

A preview of the Bruins.

 
Record: 2-1-1

Leading Scorer: Marc Savard (above), 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists).

Last Game: 4-2 win at Ottawa Saturday.

Last Game against the Penguins: 5-1 win in Boston Feb. 28. (This was the Penguins' first game with Pascal Dupuis, Hal Gill and Marian Hossa in the lineup. Hossa was injured when Boston forward Glen Murray hit him knee on knee.)

Bruins Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Michael Ryder. He has 18 points in 16 career games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins: Andrew Ference, D.

Useless Bruins Trivia: Only two single-digit numbers have not been retired by the Bruins. They are No. 1 (most recently worn by goaltender Andrew Raycroft in 2006) and No. 6 (currently held by defensemen Dennis Wideman).

Best Bruins YouTube Video We Could Find: Check out this hit Boston's Shawn Thornton put on Colorado's Darcy Tucker last week:

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ0lw7-VomM]

Notes:

-Tonight's game will be the Bruins' home opener.

-No live blog from us tonight. We're stuck in the office. We'll re-watch the game and offer a semi-coherent recap for Tuesday morning.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Pascal Dupuis (right) is working well on the top line.

-Are the Penguins piling up too much talent on their first line?

-Chris Minard had two goals and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-4 win at Hershey.

-This was a big win for the AHL Penguins.

Atlantic Division

-The Islanders are still trying to adapt to the system of new coach Scott Gordon.

-Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro's first start since offseason surgery went well.

-The media in New York doesn't treat the Islanders very well.

Northeast Division

-After he was demolished by a check Saturday night, the Canadiens are taking it easy with forward Andrei Kostitsyn.

-Boston's schedule in October is no walk in the park.

Southeast Division

-Eric Staal (who has a brother or two we hear) had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes in a 3-1 win in Anaheim.

-The Lightning demoted former Penguins prospect Jamie Heward to Norfolk of the AHL.

-The Capitals recalled defenseman Tyler Sloan from Hershey of the AHL.

Central Division

-Patrick Sharp's (right) two goals and an assist helped the Blackhawks beat the Canucks, 4-2. It was Joel Quenneville's first win as Chicago's coach.

-The Red Wings forgot to grab the puck forward Marian Hossa scored his 300^th career goal with. (We bet Sidney Crosby would've remembered....)

-Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall is off to a slow start.

-Predators forward Steve Sullivan, who hasn't played since Feb. 2007 due to back problems, is hoping to return to the lineup in December.

-Former Predators forward Martin Gelinas is still looking for work.

-Blues forward D.J. King is dealing with a shoulder injury.

Northwest Division

-New Avalanche goaltender Andrew Raycroft is getting comfortable in Colorado.

-Wild coach Jacques Lemaire is mad at his young players. He wants them to quit sagging their pants or something.

Pacific Division

-The Coyotes demoted former Penguins prospect Ryan Lannon to San Antonio of the AHL.

-The Ducks are off to their worst start since the 2003-04 season.

Adams Division

-The Pensblog didn't agree with Bob Smizik's opinion on fighting in hockey.

-With Steve Yzerman in charge, expect Canada's men's Olympic team to adopt a younger approach.

(Photos: Savard-Elsa/Getty Images; Dupuis-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Kostitsyn-Graham Hughes/Canadian Press; Sharp-Paul Beaty/Associated Press)