After months of hype, the Bruins are ready to take the ice outdoors at Boston's historic Fenway Park, and while it may be cold outside at friendly Fenway, the two teams about to take the ice are hot as wildfire.
With a 4-0 win over the Thrashers on Wednesday night, the Bruins have now won four of their last five. Meanwhile, the visiting Philadelphia Flyers have won four straight, including a 6-0 romp over the Rangers on Wednesday. The packed house at Fenway has a great game to look forward to.
When and Where
Friday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (NBC)
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
Records
Bruins (20-12-7, 47 points, second place in Northeast Division, fifth place in Eastern Conference)
Flyers (19-18-2, 40 points, third place in Atlantic Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This the third of four meetings between the Bruins and Flyers this season, and the B's are winless in the first two. They dropped one contest in Philadelphia — a 4-3 shootout loss on Oct. 22 — and another back at the TD Garden, a 3-1 decision on Dec. 14. The Bruins went 2-1-1 last year in the season series, with the road team coming out victorious in all four contests.
Skinny
The winter gets colder, but these Flyers heat up. Philly had a rough start, but now hasn't lost a game since Dec. 21 — the Flyers have beaten Tampa Bay 5-2, Carolina 4-3 in a shootout, the Islanders 2-1 and the Rangers in an ugly, lopsided affair. The Flyers can only hope they open 2010 as strong as they finished '09, but taking on the Bruins at Fenway will be a challenge.
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
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Flyers
Forwards
Simon Gagne-Mike Richards–Claude Giroux
Scott Hartnell–Jeff Carter–Danny Briere
James van Riemsdyk–Darroll Powe–Arron Asham.
Dan Carcillo–Blair Betts–Ian Laperriere
Defensemen
Matt Carle–Chris Pronger
Braydon Coburn–Kimmo Timonen
Oskars Bartulis–Danny Syvret
Goaltenders
Michael Leighton
Johan Backlund
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 10-9-5 with a 2.42 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Thomas has four shutouts.
Tuukka Rask is 10-3-2 with a 1.85 GAA and a .935 save percentage. Rask has two shutouts.
Flyers
Michael Leighton is 5-4-0 with a 3.13 GAA and an .892 save percentage. Leighton has one shutout.
Johan Backlund has yet to play.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
The Bruins are 2-4-4 against Atlantic Division opponents this season.
Their penalty-killing percentage of 87.9 ranks best in the NHL.
Tuukka Rask's 1.85 GAA and .935 save percentage are both NHL bests.
Marco Sturm leads the Bruins with 13 goals.
Zdeno Chara has 21 assists.
Marc Savard leads the way with five power-play goals.
Flyers
The Flyers are 10-9-0 on the road this season.
They have allowed 37 power-play goals, third-most in the NHL.
Jeff Carter leads the NHL with 174 shots on goal.
Daniel Carcillo is second in the league with 104 penalty minutes.
Mike Richards leads the Flyers with 33 points.
Chris Pronger has 19 assists.
Matt Carle leads the team with a plus-minus of plus-13.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Milan Lucic is on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain. He is doubtful to return Friday.
Mark Stuart will miss another month with a broken sternum.
Flyers
Ryan Parent has missed the last week with a strained back.
Ray Emery underwent abdominal surgery and is out until mid-January.
Brian Boucher has been out since Dec. 23 with a lacerated finger.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen is on injured reserve with a sprained knee.
Mike Rathje is out for the season with hip and back injuries.
This Date in Bruins History
In 1930, the Bruins tie an NHL record with their 11th straight win, 5-2, over the New York Americans at the Boston Garden.
Overheard
"Man, I haven't experienced something like this since I was a kid. That was really surreal and just so much fun. I mean the snow, outdoors, Fenway Park — what more can you ask for?"
–Bruins center Marc Savard, after the Bruins practiced in the snow on Thursday
Press Box
Bruins
The B's recorded a shutout win on Wednesday.
Patrice Bergeron is headed to the Olympics.
Hockey was meant to be played outdoors.
Flyers
Simon Gagne gave Philly a hat trick against the Rangers.
Mike Richards and Chris Pronger are Vancouver-bound.
Philly.com has a cool photo gallery from Thursday's practices.
NHL
Martin Brodeur shut out the Penguins again.
The Sharks have won six straight.
Great NHL goals of the decade: a retrospective.
Outlook
The novelty of the Fenway Park ice and the allure of the massive crowd will be overwhelming, but the Bruins have no time to celebrate their New Year's Day — they have work to do. The B's are 0-2 against Philadelphia already this season, and the Flyers glide into Boston having won four consecutive games. The streak must stop here. It's time for the Bruins to stand their ground.
With or without Milan Lucic, the Bruins will be determined to treat the Fenway faithful to a victory over the visiting Flyers.
