Bruins Return Home for Rematch With Thrashers

For the Bruins, it's home at last. The B's haven't taken the ice at the
TD Garden since before Christmas — after a week away, they're finally
back home on Wednesday night.

And as it turns out, they're facing the
same team that they beat in their last game at the Garden — the
Atlanta Thrashers, who lost 6-4 last Wednesday. In that game, Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara had a goal and
two assists each. The B's three-game
winning streak is over, snapped at the hands of the Lightning on Monday
night, but a return to their home ice just might be what they need to
start anew.

When and Where

Wednesday, Dec. 30, 7 p.m. (NESN)
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

Records

Bruins (19-12-7, 45 points, second place in Northeast Division, fifth place in Eastern Conference)
Thrashers (18-16-4, 40 points, second place in Southeast Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)

Head to Head

The Bruins are 2-0 against Atlanta already this season — in addition
to their 6-4 win last week, they recorded a 4-3 shootout win over the
Thrashers in Atlanta on Nov. 19. Michael Ryder scored twice to force
overtime and Patrice Bergeron had the only shootout goal for Boston,
which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Skinny

What's going on with these Thrashers? They were flying high a month
ago, winning four straight to close out November with a 14-7-3 record.
They've tanked since then, winning just four of their 14 games in
December and losing five straight since beating the Stars at home on
Dec. 17. This Atlanta squad had better right the ship, and fast. An
Eastern Conference playoff spot might hang in the balance.

Projected Lineups

Bruins
Forwards
Steve Begin–Marc Savard–Marco Sturm
Daniel Paielle–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton–Vladimir Sobotka–Byron Bitz

Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Johnny Boychuck
Matt Hunwick–Derek Morris

Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask

Thrashers
Forwards
Ilya Kovalchuk–Nik Antropov–Maxim Afinogenov
Evander Kane–Todd White–Colby Armstrong
Slava Kozlov–Rich Peverley–Bryan Little
Jim Slater–Marty Reasoner–Chris Thorburn

Defensemen
Tobias Enstrom–Christoph Schubert
Zach Bogosian–Pavel Kubina
Ron Hainsey–Boris Valabik

Goaltenders
Ondrej Pavelec
Johan Hedberg

Goaltender Matchup

Bruins
Tim Thomas is 10-9-5 with a 2.42 GAA and .918 save percentage. Thomas has four shutouts.

Tuukka Rask is 9-3-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .933 save percentage. Rask has one shutout.

Thrashers
Ondrej Pavelec is 9-10-3 with a 3.42 GAA and .906 save percentage. Pavelec has two shutouts.

Johan Hedberg is 9-6-1 with a 2.47 GAA and .920 save percentage. He has one shutout.

Stat Sheet

Bruins
The Bruins are 11-6-3 at home this season.

They have allowed 17 power-play goals, second-fewest in the NHL.

Tuukka Rask's 1.97 GAA leads the league.

Tim Thomas' four shutouts place him second behind the Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov.

Marco Sturm leads the Bruins with 12 goals this season.

Zdeno Chara has 21 assists.

Shawn Thornton leads the way with 61 penalty minutes.

Thrashers
The Thrashers are 4-3-3 against Northeast Division opponents this season.

They have scored 124 goals, fourth-most in the NHL.

Ilya Kovalchuk has scored 23 goals this season, fourth-most in the NHL.

Pavel Kubina is fifth in the NHL with a plus-minus of plus-15.

Chris Thorburn has two short-handed goals.

Tobias Enstrom leads the Thrashers with 27 assists.

Eric Boulton has logged 60 penalty minutes.

Black and Blue

Bruins

Milan Lucic is on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. His status for Friday's Winter Classic is still uncertain.

Mark Stuart will miss another month with a broken sternum.

Derek Morris, who missed three games with an undisclosed injury, made his return Sunday against Florida.

Thrashers
Mark Popovic has missed the last four weeks with a broken foot.

Kari Lehtonen underwent back surgery in September. He has yet to take the ice this season.

This Date in Bruins History

In 2006, the Bruins are shut out by Predators backup goalie Chris
Mason, 5-0, at the Sommet Center in Nashville. Paul Kariya has a goal
and an assist while Jordin Tootoo adds two assists for the Predators,
who beat the B's and cap off a three-game Bruins losing streak.

Overheard

"I think the main thing is getting back out there and doing drills with
contact. At the end of practices, we like to do some three-on-threes
and five-on-fives. That’s where I think it’s really going to test it,
if I’m able to withstand a push and push off the ice. To get in on a
hit, you have to have that push off the ankle."
–Milan Lucic, in Tuesday's Boston Globe, on his recovery from a sprained ankle.

Press Box

Bruins
Lightning struck the Bruins.

Milan Lucic is still missing in action.

Tim Thomas had his work cut out for him.

Thrashers
Atlanta has lost five straight.

You've got to play all 60 minutes.

Will the Thrashers keep Ilya Kovalchuk?

NHL
The Sabres rallied past the Penguins.

The Sharks beat Phoenix in a shootout.

The Blue Jackets have lost 12 straight on the road.

Outlook

The Thrashers are a formidable team, but the B's are running into them
at the right time — they Thrashers are in the midst of a dismal five-game losing
streak and are falling fast in the Eastern Conference ranks. The Bruins
have every reason to be confident, but they can't be too confident —
with the Winter Classic looming at the end of this week, it would be
far too easy for the B's to get ahead of themselves. As long as they
stay focused on the task at hand, they can take care of business
against Atlanta.