Boston is once again struggling on the power play and even strength and has uncharacteristically allowed 10 goals in 10 games.
Boston's four-game road trip begins with another early gut-check game. The Bruins will have their hands full with the dynamic Kovalchuck and an upstart Thrashers squad, but hopefully, the B's can right the ship and get their season going in the right direction.
When And Where
Thursday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. (NESN)
Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.
Records
Bruins (8-8-4, 20 points, third place in Northeast Division, 11th in Eastern Conference)
Thrashers (10-6-1, 21 points, third place in Southeast Division, ninth in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This is the first of four meetings between the Thrashers and Bruins. They meet again twice in December in Boston, on Dec. 23 and Dec. 30. The two teams close out the season series in Atlanta on March 23.
The Bruins were 4-0-0 against the Thrashers last season.
The Bruins lead the lifetime series 20-11-2-3.
Skinny
Bruins head coach Claude Julien has had enough and appears to be adopting a tough love approach with his players, putting the onus on them to play better.
“I don’t know why I have to answer for them,” Julien said after his team’s lackluster effort in a 4-1 loss to the Islanders on Monday night. “You ask them why they came out flat because they were well aware of everything. They were well aware of what was on the line. They were well aware that this team only lost two games in regulation in the last 12. They were aware of all of that stuff.
"So I know I’m the coach and I have to stand up here, but I don’t have to answer questions that they should answer," he continued. "Why did they come out flat? I think that’s the biggest problem right now with our team — we have to find that identity, that excitement, that emotion that made us successful in the past.”
Not only have the Thrashers been hot overall, they have been playing well lately at home in Phillips Arena, winning three straight after losing four in a row in their own barn.
"You always have to remember history," Thrashers head coach John Anderson said of the slide at home. “[Assistant general manager] Larry Simmons gave me a stat that teams under .500 at home never make the playoffs. I didn’t want to be the first team to do it, although it would have been nice to do. I prefer to win at home.”
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
Marco Sturm-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler-David Krejc-Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille-Vladimir Sobotka-Brad Marchand
Shawn Thornton-Steve Begin-Byron Bitz
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara-Derek Morris
Matt Hunwick-Dennis Wideman
Mark Stuart-Andrew Ference
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
*Forward Marc Savard will be a game-time decision.
Thrashers
Forwards
Ilya Kovalchuk-Nik Antropov-Maxim Afinogenov
Slava Kozlov-Todd White-Rich Peverley
Evander Kane-Marty Reasoner-Colby Armstrong
Eric Boulton-Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn
Defense
Tobias Enstrom-Christoph Schubert
Mark Popovic-Zach Bogosian
Anssi Salmela-Ron Hainsey
Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec
Johan Hedberg
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 5-6-3 with a 2.33 GAA and .918 save percentage. Thomas has three shutouts this season.
Tuukka Rask is 3-2-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .911 save percentage. Rask has one shutout this season.
Thrashers
Ondrej Pavelec is 6-5-1 with a 2.90 GAA and .917 save percentage. Pavelec has one shutout this season.
Johan Hedberg is 4-1-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .923 save percentage.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
Forward Patrice Bergeron leads the team in goals with six and in points with 13.
Defensemen Derek Morris (two goals, nine assists) and Zdeno Chara (one goal, 10 assists) are tied for second in team scoring and lead the defense in assists and points. Chara leads the team in assists.
Forward Blake Wheeler (five goals, five assists) is third on the team in scoring with 10 points.
The Bruins have been outscored 49-45 this season. They are averaging 2.25 goals per game and 2.45 goals against.
The Bruins went 0-for-5 on the power play on Saturday and are now 3-for-16 in their last five games. Boston is 9-for-71 on the power play this season, good for a league-worst 12.7 percent success rate.
The Bruins' penalty kill continued its amazing success on Saturday night, killing off five New York power plays. Boston has now killed off 25 straight and 39 of the last 40 power plays it's faced. The Bruins have only allowed 11 power-play goals on 72 power plays faced with an 84.7 percent success rate.
The Bruins are 2-3-2 on the road.
The Bruins are 1-1-1 against the Southeast Division this season.
The Bruins are 5-4-4 against the Eastern Conference this season.
Thrashers
Forward Rich Peverley (eight goals, 15 assists) has six points in his last three games and leads the Thrashers with 23 points.
Forward Ilya Kovalchuk (12 goals, six assists) has eight points in his last three games since returning from a foot injury. He is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in goals.
Forward Maxim Afinogenov (seven goals, 10 assists) is third on the team in scoring and has six points in his last three games.
Forward Nik Antropov leads the team with 16 assists.
Rookie forward Evander Kane (six goals, five assists) has five points in his last two games.
Defenseman Tobias Enstrom (two goals, 10 assists) leads the defense with 12 points.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Forward Milan Lucic (broken right index finger) did not travel with the team to Atlanta because of food poisoning. His return to the lineup is imminent.
Forward Marc Savard remains on injured reserve with a broken left foot. He told WZOX on Thursday that he will not rule out playing against the Thrashers, but he's leaning toward a Friday return.
Thrashers
Forward Bryan Little (groin) is a game-time decision.
Goalie Kari Lehtonen underwent his second back surgery in the last four months on Oct. 30 and is expected to be out through the end of December.
Defenseman Boris Valabik was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 7 with a left ankle injury, which might require surgery. He is out indefinitely.
This Date in Bruins History
Zdeno Chara and Chuck Kobasew each score two goals in a 7-4 win over the Sabres on Nov. 19, 2008. Marc Savard has a goal and three assists.
Overheard
"When you coach a team, you're in a partnership situation. A coach can guide you and help you, but players have to do their share, too.”
–Claude Julien on his players not holding up their end of the bargain
Press Box
Bruins
GM Peter Chiarelli is going to see how the Bruins play with Marc Savard and Milan Lucic in the lineup before making any big decisions.
Could big changes be coming for the Bruins if they don’t get better with the impending returns of Savard and Lucic?
Savard’s contract talks with the Bruins appear to be going well, and a deal could be signed soon.
Thrashers
Here’s the game story from the Thrashers' 3-2 win over Edmonton on Sunday.
Nik Antropov has made a nice adjustment to center.
Maxim Afinogenov has fit in nicely with the Thrashers
NHL
Panthers forward David Booth continues to suffer from post-concussion syndrome.
Canadiens forward Brian Gionta is out indefinitely with a broken foot:
Is Sidney Crosby Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year?
Outlook
The Bruins basically have to do everything they didn’t do on Monday night, when they turned in one of their worst performances of the season against the Islanders. First and foremost, they need to play with more emotion and determination. They also have to tighten up their defensive zone play and stay within their system once again.
When the Bruins are successful in those areas, the offense usually starts to build. The power play will hopefully follow suit, but the main focus must be a complete 60-minute effort. Until that happens, the losing will continue and different areas of their game will struggle.
