We will see starting Wednesday, but one thing is for sure: if the Bruins have another sub-par outing, management won’t tolerate it and we could be talking change again on Thursday.
One major disruption for Wednesday's game was the team's surprise announcement that Marc Savard will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken foot, giving the Bruins an added newcomer in forward Trent Whitfield.
When And Where
7 p.m. ET (NESN), Wednesday, Oct. 21
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Records
Bruins: (3-4-0), 6 points, tied for third in Northeast Division, tied for ninth in Eastern Conference
Predators: (2-4-1), 5 points, fifth in the Central Division,14th in the Western Conference
Head to Head
This is the first and only meeting between the Bruins and Predators this season.
The Predators beat the Bruins 3-2 in a shootout last season on Valentine’s Day.
The Bruins lead the all-time series 7-4-1-2.
Skinny
The season is seven games deep and the inconsistent Bruins haven’t won or lost consecutive games. So does their inconsistency have consistency? If so, then the Bruins should win this game.
The Bruins' roster will have at least two and possibly three new players that weren’t on the opening night roster, after a week of turnover in the Hub of hockey. Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand were recalled from Providence Sunday night and practiced with the team the last two days. Then Tuesday night, GM Peter Chiarelli was busy again, trading for forward Daniel Paille. He could also see ice time Wednesday.
This game marks as a quick detour from the road as the Bruins hop right back on the plane for games in Philadelphia on Thursday and Ottawa on Saturday. They return home again on Oct. 29 to face the Devils, and then two days later on Halloween they face the Oilers in a matinee at 1 p.m.
So far this season, the second period seems to be the period when the Predators are most dangerous, scoring six of their nine goals this season in the middle frame.
Neither Dan Ellis nor the incumbent Pekka Rinne has stepped up to claim the No. 1 spot between the pipes.
Projected Lineups
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Sturm | Mark Recchi | |
| Vladimir Sobotka | David Krejci | Blake Wheeler |
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Michael Ryder |
| Shawn Thornton | Steve Begin | Byron Bitz |
| Defenseman | |
|---|---|
| Zdeno Chara | Derek Morris |
| Matt Hunwick | Dennis Wideman |
| Andrew Ference | Mark Stuart |
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Tim Thomas |
| Tukka Rask |
Predators
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Sullivan | David Legwand | Patric Hornqvist |
| Joel Ward | Colin Wilson | Martin Erat |
| Dave Scatchard | Cal O'Reilly | J.P. Dumont |
| Wade Belak | Marcel Goc | Jerred Smithson |
| Defensemen | |
|---|---|
| Shea Weber | Ryan Suter |
| Francis Bouillon | Cody Franson |
| Kevin Klein | Alexander Sulzer |
| Goaltenders |
|---|
| Dan Ellis |
| Pekka Rinne |
*The Bruins announced Wednesday morning that Savard will be placed on long-term IR.
*Forward Daniel Paille was acquired from Buffalo on Tuesday and may be in the lineup.
*Johnny Boychuk will play if Wideman isn’t ready to return.
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 2-3-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .896 save percentage. Thomas has one shutout this season.
Tuukka Rask is 1-1-0 with a 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage
Predators
Dan Ellis is 2-1-1 with 2.80 GAA and .903 save percentage
Pekka Rinne is 0-3-0 with a 3.46 GAA and .894 save percentage
Stat Sheet
Bruins
Center Marc Savard (four goals, three assists), leads the Bruins with seven points. Savard, normally a pass-first type of player, also leads the team in shots with 20.
Winger Michael Ryder (two goals, three assists) has five points.
Center Patrice Bergeron (two goals, three assists) has five points.
Defensemen Zdeno Chara (three assists), Mark Stuart (one goal, two assists) and Matt Hunwick (two goals, one assist) all have three points.
The Bruins have been outscored 23-19 in their first seven games.
The Bruins are averaging 2.71 goals per game and allowing 3.29 goals per game
The Bruins' power play went 0-for-2 in their last game and is now just 5-for-32 on the season. They are scoring at a 15.6 percent clip on the man-advantage.
The Bruins' penalty kill struggled again as well, allowing the Coyotes' power play to go 2-for-4. Boston has allowed 10 power-play goals on 33 opportunities and is now killing off opponents’ power plays at a 69.7 percent clip.
Predators
Winger Patric Hornqvist (two goals, four assists) leads the Predators with six points.
Center and captain Jason Arnott (three goals, two assists) is second on the team in scoring with five points.
Defensemen Ryan Suter (three assists) and Shea Weber (one goal, two assists) lead the Nashville blue line with three points.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Marc Savard will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken left foot. The team did not say when the injury occurred, but it leaves the Bruins without their leading scorer.
Defenseman Dennis Wideman has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury but is probable for Wednesday’s game.
Forward Shawn Thornton has missed the last two practices with maintenance days and is probable for the game.
Forward Milan Lucic was placed on long-term injured reserve Sunday night and had successful surgery on a broken index finger. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Predators
Captain Jason Arnott was placed on injured reserve Tuesday after injuring his arm Saturday and is expected to miss two weeks.
Defenseman Dan Hamhuis is out indefinitely with an upper body injury
Forward Jordin Tootoo is questionable for the game with a hip flexor injury.
This Date In Bruins History
On October 21, 2008, Thomas Vanek scores the decisive shootout goal and Ryan Miller stops four of five chances to cap the Buffalo Sabres' come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Overheard
"I think we just need to understand how we need to play and when we are at our best we can play with anybody in the league. We should be focusing on our efforts, right now, more than who we are playing against."
–Claude Julien on the Bruins' focus heading into Wednesday's game
Press Box
Bruins
Bruins vice president and Hall of Famer Cam Neely is expecting a spark from Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand.
Owner Jeremy Jacobs thinks the team is underperforming.
Newly acquired Daniel Paille could help the struggling penalty kill and serve in a role similar to that of the recently departed Chuck Kobasew.
It’s veteran Mark Recchi’s turn on the Bruins’ top line with Marc Savard and Marco Sturm.
Naoko Funayama thinks Sobotka and Marchand will provide some energy.
What does the trade of Chuck Kobasew mean?
On the most recent Coach’s Corner, Don Cherry said Marc Savard should be an Olympian in Vancouver.
Mark Recchi was one of four NHL veterans tabbed to a new NHLPA review committee.
Predators
Former Boston University star Colin Wilson is hoping for a triumphant return with the Predators.
Shea Weber and Ryan Suter are logging lots of minutes on the blue line for Nashville.
The Predators signed their 2009 first-round pick Ryan Ellis to a three-year entry-level deal.
NHL
Should pucks off the safety netting be reviewable?
Need some goaltending help? There could be some quality goalies available on the trade market.
“The Kids Are Alright” in Colorado.
Could Hall of Famer Mark Messier be the next GM of the Rangers?
Commissioner Gary Bettman wants to make amends with “The Great One”.
Outlook
Peter Chiarelli was the latest to try and light a spark under his struggling squad by making numerous personnel moves this week. But the bottom line remains that the core of this team, still very much intact, needs to play to its potential. Yes Milan Lucic, placed on long-term injury reserve this past Monday will sorely be missed, but this Bruins team boasted about its depth in the offseason and now it’s time for that depth to take action.
The Bruins face a struggling team that lacks confidence in the Predators, so they must come out full force form the opening faceoff. Each time the Bruins have come out and dictated the tempo of the game they seem to have won. If for some reason, Nashville takes the momentum away at a certain point, the Bruins must maintain that intensity and stick to their game plan, something they have failed to do every time they face adversity in games this season.
