About the Bruins - 03-11-12
A preview of the Bruins.
When and where: 12:30 p.m., EDT. Consol Energy Center.
TV: NBC, TSN.
Record: 40-24-3, 83 points. The Bruins are in second place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the Northeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Tyler Seguin, 55 points (24 goals, 31 assists).
Last Game: 4-3 home loss to the Capitals, yesterday. Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist for the Bruins.
Last Game against the Penguins: 2-1 home loss, Feb. 4. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Penguins.
Bruins Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Milan Lucic (right). He has points in six consecutive games.
Ex-Penguins on the Bruins: Andrew Ference, D.
Ex-Bruins on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Bill Guerin, player development coach; Andre Savard, professional scout.
Useless Bruins Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The Bruins all-time leader in goaltending losses is former Penguins executive Eddie Johnston with 193 points.
Best Bruins Video We Could Find: Lucic using former Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn to blow up a piece of glass during the 2008-09 season:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (36-14-3, 2.27 GAA, .916 SV%) for the Penguins. The Bruins have not indicated if Tim Thomas (29-16-0, 2.33 GAA; .924 SV%) or Marty Turco (11-11-3, 3.02 GAA, .897 SV% in 2010-11) will start.
Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Deryk Engelland ("lower body") and goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) are day to day. Defenseman Paul Martin (illness) is questionable. Defenseman Kris Letang (head) is out. Center Sidney Crosby (head/neck) is on injured reserve. For the Bruins, left winger Benoit Pouliot (hip) is questionable. Defenseman Andrew Ference ("lower body"), left winger Daniel Paille (undisclosed) and center Rich Peverly (knee) are doubtul. Goaltender Tuukka Rask (groin/abdomen) is out. Right winger Nathan Horton (head) and center Marc Savard (head) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines at practice yesterday were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Craig Adams - Richard Park
Simon Despres - Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik - Zbynek Michalek
Brian Strait - Ben Lovejoy
-Pouliot was scratched as a game-time decision yesterday. Consider this a guess at their lines and defensive pairings based on his availability and yesterday's lineup:
Milan Lucic - David Krejci - Tyler Seguin
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Brian Rolston
Benoit Pouliot - Chris Kelly - Jordan Caron
Lane MacDermid - Gregory Campbell - Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara - Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg - Joe Corvo
Greg Zanon - Adam McQuaid
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins faced the Bruins, this happened:
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-Sidney Crosby will not play.
-The Penguins are getting some offense from their blue line.
-Malkin has 499 career points and 196 career goals.
-Neal has 199 career points and 96 career assists.
-Dupuis has 147 career goals.
-Kennedy has 146 career points.
-Orpik has 97 career assists.
-The Penguins have not scored on their past 15 power plays, all without the services of Letang available.
-Neal has a nine-game goal-scoring slump.
-Staal has a career-best seven-game scoring streak.
-Chara blew up a piece of glass after hitting Washington forward Marcus Johansson yesterday:
{youtube width="465" height="266"}We0U36y5hbg{/youtube}-The Bruins recalled center Max Sauve from Providence of the AHL.
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(Photo: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)