Bruins Take on Flyers in Winter Classic Preview

The Bruins are in Philadelphia on Thursday night after a good bounce-back win against Nashville on Wednesday. Boston shoots for its first consecutive win as it looks to find some consistency.

There hasn’t been much consistency with the lineup recently. The Bruins placed two players on long-term injury reserve, made two trades and called up four players from Providence. But if the lines assembled by head coach Claude Julien on Wednesday can perform the way they did for the last 40 minutes, the Bruins may find their rhythm and get on a roll.

What better way to do it than against one of their Eastern Conference rivals, the Flyers, in a preview of the 2010 Winter Classic that will be played at Fenway Park in Boston on New Year’s Day. But Thursday, the two teams battle at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia for what promises to be a physical, entertaining game.

When And Where

Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. ET (NESN)
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pa.

Records

Bruins (4-4-0) eight points, third in Northeast Division, tied for seventh in Eastern Conference
Flyers (3-2-1) seven points, fourth in Atlantic Division, ninth in Eastern Conference

Head to Head

This is the first of four meetings between the Flyers and Bruins this season. The two teams meet again on Dec. 14 in Boston, on New Year’s Day in the Winter Classic and at Philadelphia on March 11.

The Bruins were 2-2-0 against the Flyers last season, going 1-1-0 at Philadelphia and 1-1-0 at the TD Garden.

Boston leads the all-time series 85-55-21-4.

Skinny

The Bruins had a total of four new players in their lineup Wednesday night that weren’t on their roster for their last game at Phoenix on Saturday. Forwards Trent Whitfield, Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand were playing in the AHL for Providence, and forward Daniel Paille was with the Buffalo Sabres.

Thursday’s game is the second consecutive-night set for the Bruins. They have won the first of each set, but dropped the second game last time out against Phoenix. They will play 15 more consecutive-night sets this season.

This is the Bruins’ first game against an Eastern Conference club since Oct. 10 when they beat the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout. They played four straight games against the Western Conference, going 2-2-0 during that stretch. They will now play two more Eastern Conference foes (at Ottawa on Oct. 24 and at home against New Jersey on Oct. 29) before hosting the Oilers on Halloween.

The Flyers are winless in their last three games and have played just once in the last 11 days when they lost to the Florida Panthers 4-2 last Friday.

This is Chris Pronger’s first game against the Bruins in a Flyers uniform and his first for an Eastern Conference team against Boston since he was part of the old Hartford-Boston rivalry in the early ’90s.

Projected Lineups

Bruins

Forwards
Marco Sturm–David Krejci–Mark Recchi
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Michael Ryder
Vladimir Sobotka–Trent Whitfield–Blake Wheeler
Daniel Paille–Steve Begin–Byron Bitz

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Andrew Ference–Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart–Matt Hunwick

Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Flyers

Forwards
Scott Hartnell–Jeff Carter–Danny Briere
Simon Gagne–Mike Richards–Claude Giroux
James van Riemsdyk–Mika Pyorala–Arron Asham
Dan Carcillo–Ian Laperriere–Darroll Powe

Defensemen
Matt Carle–Chris Pronger
Kimmo Timonen–Braydon Coburn
Ryan Parent–Danny Syvret

Goaltenders
Ray Emery
Brian Boucher

Goaltender Matchup

Bruins
Tim Thomas is 3-3-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .902 save percentage. Thomas has one shutout this season.
Tuukka Rask is 1-1-0 with a 3.39 GAA and .883 save percentage

Flyers
Ray Emery is 3-2-1 with a 2.79 GAA and .903 save percentage. He has one shutout this season.
Brian Boucher has yet to play a game.

Stat Sheet

Bruins
Injured center Marc Savard (four goals, three assists) leads the Bruins with seven points.

Winger Michael Ryder (three goals, three assists) has six points.

Center Patrice Bergeron (three goals, three assists) has six points.

Center Steve Begin got his first goal as a Bruin Wednesday night and now has five points with a goal and four assists.

Defenseman Zdeno Chara has four assists and leads all blue-liners with four points.

The Bruins have been outscored 25-23 in their first eight games.

The Bruins are averaging 2.75 goals per game and allowing 3.12 goals per game.

The Bruins’ power play went 0-for-2 in their last game and is now just 5-for-34 on the season. They are scoring at a 14.7 percent clip on the man advantage and rank 23rd in the NHL.

The Bruins’ penalty kill finally found its groove Wednesday night, killing off all three Nashville power plays, though the Predators’ first goal came seconds after a penalty expired. Boston has allowed 10 power-play goals on 36 opportunities and is now killing off opponents’ power plays at a 72.2 percent clip, good for 26th in the NHL.

Flyers
Forwards Jeff Carter (four goals, four assists), Mike Richards (six goals, two assists) and defenseman Matt Carle (one goal, seven assists) are tied for the team lead in points.

The Flyers are 9-for-33 on the power play and have the sixth-best power play in the NHL, scoring at a 27.3 percent clip.

The Flyers’ penalty kill has only allowed four goals on 30 power plays against them and has an 86.7 percent success rate. They are ranked fifth on the penalty kill.

Black and Blue

Bruins
Forward Marc Savard was placed on long-term injury reserve with a broken left foot Wednesday and will miss four to six weeks.

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.

Forward Shawn Thornton missed Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and is day-to-day.

Flyers
Forward Blair Betts is on injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder.

Defenseman Ryan Parent is out one to two weeks with a groin injury.

Defenseman Mike Rathje is out for the season with a hip/back injury.

This Date In Bruins History

The Bruins score on four power plays in a 10-minute span of the second period en route to a 6-3 victory over the Penguins on Oct. 22, 2005. Forwards Dave Scatchard, Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov and Glen Murray have the power-play tallies.

Overheard

“I don’t think anyone is going to feel sorry for us around the league. I don’t think there’s any reason for us to feel sorry for ourselves. It’s more about rolling up our sleeves and getting ready to take this challenge head on.”
–Bruins head coach Claude Julien

Press Box

Bruins
The banged-up Bruins delivered in a 3-2 win over the Predators, and Steve Begin was the hero.

The Bruins are ready for the challenge of playing without Marc Savard and Milan Lucic.

Daniel Paille set up the game-winning goal in his first game as a Bruin.

If the Maple Leafs continue their free fall and wind up the worst team in 2009-10, the Bruins could draft Taylor Hall.

Flyers
The Flyers have played just once in the last 11 days and are itching for action.

Head coach John Stevens has been mixing and matching lines.

The Flyers acquired 2007 second-round draft pick Stefan Legein from Columbus.

Here’s a great Flyers blog.

NHL
On page 17 of this month’s Impact Magazine, NHL.com’s online mag, Habs GM Bob Gainey discusses why he blew up the team and went on a free-agent frenzy.

In other Montreal news, former Bruins center Glen Metropolit is set to return the Canadiens’ lineup, and Sergei Kostitsyn was suspended.

Vancouver defenseman Willie Mitchell laid a devastating hit on Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.

Two college hockey programs are using new technology to study head trauma, and the NHL may do the same.

Could Ilya Kovalchuk be the next $100 million man in the NHL?

Outlook

Against the Predators, the Bruins looked a lot like the team that played solid all-around hockey last season and scrapped and hustled its way into the final slot in the East for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. Without Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and Shawn Thornton, Boston’s patchwork lineup played with heart and discipline to earn a 3-2 win, and that’s exactly what the Bruins have to do against a hungry Flyers squad that has lost three in a row.

This game promises to be physical, and as always, Philadelphia will do its best to get under the skin of Boston players and goad them into penalties. While the Bruins should match that physical intensity, they need to play a disciplined game and stay out of the box and not allow the Flyers’ sixth-ranked power play go to work. Boston must also try and get their power play going, cycling the puck and getting shots in deep through traffic for tip-ins.