The Bruins face the Blues for the only time this season on Monday night in St. Louis and look to clinch a road-trip win after taking the first two games of the four-game trip. The B's appear to be getting back on track, and the return of Marc Savard should give the Bruins the boost they need to be an elite team in the league again.
When and Where
Monday, Nov. 23, 8 p.m. (NESN)
Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Mo.
Records
Bruins (10-8-4, 24 points, third place in Northeast Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)
Blues (8-8-4, 20 points, fifth place in Central Division, 13th place in Western Conference)
Head to Head
The Bruins and Blues meet for the first and only time this season on Monday. The clubs split the season series last year with each team winning a game. The Bruins won 6-3 on Dec. 21, 2008, in St. Louis, before falling 5-4 in a shootout in devastating fashion at the Garden on Jan. 19.
Skinny
The highly anticipated return of Marc Savard is expected to take place on Monday night in St. Louis, and that is the best news the Bruins have heard in a while.
Ravaged by injuries to their top players for the first quarter of the season, the Bruins seem to be heating up after a pair of road wins over Atlanta and Buffalo on Thursday and Friday that has them climbing the Eastern Conference standings.
The return of their best player and one of the league's top playmakers can only help the Black and Gold as they look to regain control of the Northeast and the East as a whole.
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
Marco Sturm–Marc Savard–Byron Bitz
Milan Lucic–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton–Steve Begin–Daniel Paille
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Andrew Ference–Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart–Matt Hunwick
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Blues
Forwards
Andy McDonald–David Backes–T.J. Oshie
Paul Kariya–Keith Tkachuk–Brad Boyes
David Perron–Patrik Berglund–Alexander Steen
B.J. Crombeen–Jay McClement–Cam Janssen
Defensemen
Erik Johnson–Roman Polak
Darryl Sydor–Carlo Colaiacova
Mike Weaver–Alex Pietrangelo
Goaltenders
Chris Mason
Ty Conklin
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 5-6-3 with a 2.33 GAA and .918 save percentage. He has three shutouts this season.
Tuukka Rask is 5-2-1 with a 2.31 GAA and .917 save percentage. He won the first two games of the Bruins' current road trip.
Blues
Chris Mason is 6-6-3 with a 2.17 GAA and .926 save percentage. He has won his last two starts.
Ty Conklin is 2-2-2 with a 2.24 GAA and .928 save percentage. He has one shutout on the season.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
David Krejci (2-7-9) has four points in his last three games.
Blake Wheeler (5-6-11) has scored just one goal since Halloween over a 10-game span.
Shawn Thornton leads the Bruins with 47 PIMs in 20 games this season.
Derek Morris has 11 points in 22 games this season after scoring just 20 points in 75 games last season.
Zdeno Chara has just one goal in 22 games this season.
Blues
Former first-overall pick Erik Johnson leads the Blues with 14 points and a plus-7 rating.
David Perron leads the Blues with nine goals and has seven points in his last six games.
Former Bruin Brad Boyes has four goals and seven assists in 20 games this season.
Cam Janssen is averaging 2.81 penalty minutes per game with 45 PIMs in 16 games. He has yet to record a point.
Paul Kariya (4-4-8) has just one point in his last 12 games.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Marc Savard is expected to return to the lineup against the Blues on Monday after missing time with a broken foot.
Tim Thomas suffered an undisclosed injury last week, and his status is still unknown.
Blues
D.J. King is on injured reserve and is out until at least late December with a fractured right hand.
This Date in Bruins History
The Bruins, backed by a pair of Glen Murray goals, snap a six-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Nov. 23, 2005. It ends their longest losing skid since 1997 and comes after Jeremy Jacobs openly question the team's desire to win. Patrice Bergeron, Shawn McEachern and Sergei Samsonov also score for the Bruins, while captain Joe Thornton gets traded to San Jose just seven days later.
Overhead
"Let’s just say it’s a first positive step on a four-game road trip."
–Zdeno Chara, to The Boston Globe, after the Bruins' won for the second time in as many games on their current road trip
Press Box
Bruins
The Bruins are looking to extend Marc Savard with a long-term deal.
Milan Lucic made an immediate impact in his return to the lineup.
The Bruins are getting healthy at the right time.
Blues
Erik Johnson is proving himself as an offensive defenseman.
Alex Steen is back in the Blues' lineup.
John Davidson was awarded for his excellence in broadcasting.
NHL
The Canucks are ready for the return of Daniel Sedin.
The Sharks might be the best they have ever been.
The Kings' youth movement is paying off earlier than expected.
Outlook
As of right now, the Bruins are back in the postseason picture for the Eastern Conference. However, sitting in the eighth spot in the East isn't exactly where the B's envisioned themselves after finishing first last season. Luckily for them, the season isn't decided in November.
After taking the first two games of the four-game road trip, the Bruins have a chance to sweep the mini trip if they can get wins in St. Louis and Minnesota before Thanksgiving. While a sweep is wishful thinking, taking at least Monday's game against the Blues will ensure them of winning the trip.
