Carolina has the third fewest points in the NHL this season with 64. Though the Hurricanes allow more than three goals (3.04) per game, these stats are a little misleading — over their last 18 games, the Hurricanes are 13-4-1, surrendering only 2.22 goals per game.
The Bruins have played decently during this extended road trip, and after Tuesday’s game, they are off for four of the next six days — some much-needed rest that should help re-energize the team. But before then, two additional points on Tuesday would work wonders for the Bruins’ playoff hopes.
WHEN AND WHERE
Monday, March 16, 7 p.m. (NESN)
RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C.
RECORDS
Bruins (29-26-12, 72 points, fourth place in Northeast Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)
Hurricanes (28-32-8, 64 points, last place in Southeast Division, 14th place in Eastern Conference)
HEAD TO HEAD
This is the third of four meetings between the Bruins and the Hurricanes. The Bruins are 1-1-0 against Carolina this season. On Oct. 3, they beat the ‘Canes 7-2 at the Garden, but on Jan. 24, the B’s fell to Carolina 5-1 on the road. The Bruins play the Hurricanes for the final time this season on April 10, the second-to-last game of the regular season.
The Bruins lead the lifetime series 90-64-16-2.
SKINNY
The Bruins bring the NHL’s worst offense into Carolina as they struggle to regain their scoring touch. The Bruins can finally see the light at the end of this road-trip tunnel, and this is another big game for the Bruins: A win against the Hurricanes would give Boston a 3-3-1 record during this road trip, which would be very respectable. Alternately, a loss would mean a 2-4-1 trip, which would not be.
Boston’s top line of Marco Sturm, Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi continues to thrive. Those three have accounted for seven goals over the past four games.
It seems like every week, the Bruins are described as being in a “now or never” position, and every week, they take care of business as usual. But now, the end of the regular season is less than a month away, staring the B’s in the face. If the Bruins have any intention of making more than a quick one-and-done playoff appearance, then they need to find a way to produce consistent offense in order to recreate some of last season’s magic. This is not a team that can sneak into the final playoff spot and expect to turn it on.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Bruins
Forwards
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Milan Lucic–Vladimir Sobotka–Miroslav Satan
Daniel Paille–Steve Begin–Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Seidenberg
Mark Stuart–Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick–Johnny Boychuk
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Hurricanes
Forwards
Ray Whitney–Eric Staal–Jussi Jokinen
Chad LaRose–Brandon Sutter*–Tuomo Ruuto
Zach Boychuk–Rod Brind’Amour–Erik Cole
Sergei Samsanov–Patrick Dwyer–Tom Kostopoulos
*Assuming Sutter is back in the lineup.
Defense
Tim Gleason–Brian Pothier
Joni Pitkanen–Brett Carson
Jay Harrison–Alexandre Picard
Goaltenders
Manny Legace
Justin Peters
GOALTENDER MATCHUP
Bruins
Tuukka Rask is 15-9-4 with a 2.14 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Rask started eight straight games for the Bruins before hurting his knee in a 4-1 loss to Montreal on March 2. He was 4-2-2 during that eight-game stretch. Rask has three shutouts and replaced Tim Thomas on Monday night after Thomas allowed three first-period goals to the New Jersey Devils.
Tim Thomas is 15-16-8 with a 2.51 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Thomas had a poor showing on Monday night, allowing three early goals to the New Jersey Devils, before being yanked in favor of Rask. Thomas has four shutouts this season.
Hurricanes
Manny Legace is 9-6-4 with a 2.83 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Legace has started three games since the Olympic break, going 2-0-1, and he earned his first shutout of the season in a 4-0 Hurricanes victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.
Justin Peters is 4-2-0 with a .923 save percentage. Peters has been in net four times since the Olympic break, going 2-2-0.
Cam Ward has been out since Feb. 3 with a back injury. Ward is 14-21-5 with a 2.74 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
STAT SHEET
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron had a goal on Monday, giving him 14 on the season. Bergeron leads the Bruins with 43 points.
Blake Wheeler had a goal and an assist on Monday. Wheeler now has 16 goals and 19 helpers on the season.
David Krejci had an assist on Monday, giving him 23 on the season to go along with 36 points.
Dennis Seidenberg had a helper against the Devils. He now has three assists in six games with the B’s.
Mark Stuart had an assist on Monday.
Zdeno Chara leads all Bruins with 30 assists, and leads all Bruins blue liners with 35 points.
The Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power play on Monday and are now 40-for-218 with an 18.3 percent success rate.
The Bruins killed off their only penalty against the Devils on Monday. The B’s have surrendered only 33 goals on 231 power plays against and are ranked third in the NHL in penalty kills at 85.7 percent.
The Bruins are still the lowest scoring team in the NHL, averaging 2.36 goals per game.
Hurricanes
Jussi Jokinen leads the Hurricanes in goals (27) and is tied for the team lead in points (54). Jokinen has 16 goals in his last 22 games.
Eric Staal is second on the team in goals (21) and is tied with Jokinen for the lead in points (54).
Joni Pitkanen leads the team in assists (35) and leads all Carolina blue liners in points (40).
The Hurricanes are 50-for-285 on the power play, with a 17.5 percent success rate.
Carolina kills off 80.5 percent of its penalties.
BLACK AND BLUE
Bruins
Marc Savard is out indefinitely with a concussion.
Andrew Ference is day-to day with a groin injury.
Hurricanes
Cam Ward has been out since Feb. 3 with a back injury. He is currently listed as day-to-day.
Brian Sutter suffered a “lower-body” injury on March 11, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sutter will likely be in the lineup on Tuesday night against the Bruins.
THIS DATE IN BRUINS HISTORY
On March 16, 1971, John Bucyk scores his 50th goal of the season in an 11-4 rout of the Detroit Red Wings. Bucyk and Phil Esposito become the first pair of teammates to score 50 or more goals in a single season.
OVERHEARD
“I know Matt Cooke is is a repeat offender. He’s been suspended twice in the last year. I can’t suspend Matt Cooke for being a repeat offender. I have to find a reason. Right now our rules say that shoulder-to-head [hits] are legal.”
–NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell, who will be in attendance at the TD Garden for the Bruins-Penguins game on Thursday night
PRESS BOX
Bruins
On Monday, the Bruins quickly fell behind the Devils 3-0 before ultimately falling 3-2.
Don Cherry uses some strong words in his criticism of the league’s decision not to suspend Matt Cooke for his hit on Marc Savard.
Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are coming off a 4-0 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.
It’s crunch time for the Hurricanes.
NHL
Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell’s season may be over after being the recipient of a viscious hit that earned Alex Ovechkin a two-game suspension.
Ovechkin talks about the hit.
OUTLOOK
Over the last two games, the Bruins have been outscored a combined 5-0 in the first period. For a team that is dead last in the NHL in goals, this is a death sentence. The Bruins need a much stronger first period on Tuesday night against the Hurricanes.
A win over Carolina would be a terrific way for the Bruins to end their seven-game road trip. The Bruins are in a fight for a playoff spot and they need wins desperately.
This game, however, is hardly an automatic win. The Hurricanes have been playing very well of late — and we know what happened the last time they faced Boston. With that said, look for the Bruins to come out strong on Tuesday night.
With a win, the Bruins would end the road trip 3-3-1. That is respectable, and right now respectable is about as good as it gets.
