Boston comes in on the heels of a lackluster effort and a 3-2 loss to the Rangers. The Bruins will be without their leading scorer, Patrice Bergeron, who returned to Boston with an injured hand.
Luckily for the Bruins, they have had their way with the Senators this season, winning all three games. Tim Thomas has a 10-game win streak against Ottawa, so expect him to get the nod in net after Tuukka Rask manned the pipes on Monday.
When and Where
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 7:30 p.m. (NESN)
Scotiabank Place, Kanata, Ontario
Records
Bruins (21-13-7, 49 points, second place in Northeast Division, fifth place in Eastern Conference)
Senators (22-16-4, 48 points, third place in Northeast Division, sixth place in Eastern Conference)
Head to Head
This is the fourth meeting of the six-game season series between the Bruins and Senators. The Bruins are 3-0-0 against Ottawa.
In their last game, Tim Thomas stopped 29 shots to help his team beat the Senators 2-0 at Scotiabank Place. It was his fourth shutout of the season and his 10th straight win against the Senators. Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm provided all the scoring Boston would need in that game.
This is the last game in Ottawa for the Bruins this season as the two teams finish the season series at the TD Garden with games Jan. 18 and 23 in Boston at the TD Garden.
Boston leads the lifetime series 54-28-8-7.
Skinny
Every time the Bruins seem to turn a corner, they seem to become complacent and lay an egg. This was the case on Monday in New York, and after the team’s 3-2 loss, head coach Claude Julien had enough.
“You have to go in there and take care of things,” Julien said. “I know there have been times in the past when they [the players] had their dressing room under control. Right now you have to coach, you have to be a cheerleader, you’ve got to wake them up. You’ve got to do too many things as a coach that you shouldn’t have to do at this level. These are professionals. They have to take ownership of their dressing room at some point.”
The Senators, despite recovering from blowing a three-goal lead, know they can be better as well.
"We're not complacent, we're not satisfied with our game," head coach Cory Clouston said after Monday morning's practice at Scotiabank Place. "We're OK where it is, but we have to get better."
Projected Lineups
Bruins
Forwards
**Not yet determined due to Bergeron's injury.
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Wideman
Andrew Ference–Johnny Boychuck
Matt Hunwick–Derek Morris
Goaltenders
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Senators
Forwards
Ryan Shannon–Mike Fisher–Alex Kovalev
Milan Michalek–Peter Regin–Nick Foligno
Jarkko Ruutu–Chris Kelly–Chris Neil
Jonathan Cheechoo–Jesse Winchester–Shean Donovan
Defenseman
Chris Phillips–Anton Volchenkov
Filip Kuba–Chris Campoli
Erik Karlsson–Matt Carkner
Goalies
Pascal Leclaire
Brian Elliot
Goaltender Matchup
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 11-9-5 with a 2.36 GAA and .920 save percentage. Thomas has four shutouts.
Tuukka Rask is 10-4-2 with a 1.92 GAA, .934 save percentage and one shutout. Rask leads the NHL in GAA and save percentage.
Senators
Pascal Leclaire is 11-7-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .891 save percentage.
Brian Elliot is 10-9-3 with a 2.70 GAA, .902 save percentage and two shutouts.
Stat Sheet
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron leads the team in points with 31.
Zdeno Chara leads the team in assists with 22 and is second in points with 25.
Marco Sturm has five goals in his last seven games and leads the team with 14 goals. He has 22 points.
Mark Recchi has eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points this season.
Matt Hunwick had a goal and an assist Monday and now has three points in his last three games. He has five goals and six assists this season.
Blake Wheeler scored his first goal in 15 games Monday night. He now has eight goals and 21 assists on the season.
The Bruins killed off three of the four Rangers power plays on Monday. They’ve allowed only 18 goals on 146 power plays faced and lead the NHL with an 87.8 percent success rate.
The Bruins' power play was 0-for-3 on Monday night and is 25-for-143 with a 17.5 percent success rate.
The Bruins are 8-7-4 on the road, 16-9-6 against the Eastern Conference and 7-2-1 against the Northeast Division.
Senators
Mike Fisher leads the team with 32 points.
Alex Kovalev had four goals and an assist on Sunday and has seven points in his last five games. Kovalev has 27 points this season with 11 goals and 16 assists.
Milan Michalek leads the Senators with 16 goals, but he hasn’t scored in seven games. His last goal came on Dec. 19 at Minnesota.
Former Boston College forward Ryan Shannon has been on fire with four goals and three assists in his last five games. Shannon had three helpers on Sunday in the 7-4 win over the Flyers.
Defenseman Anton Volchenkov had three assists on Sunday and has eight this season.
The Senators' penalty kill is ranked 13th in the NHL with an 81.8 percent success rate. They have allowed 31 goals on 170 power plays faced.
The Senators' power play is ranked 29th in the NHL with a 14.9 percent success rate. They’re 22-for-148.
Ottawa is 16-6-3 at home this season, 18-12-3 against the Eastern Conference and 7-3-2 against the Northeast Division.
Black and Blue
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron is scheduled to get further evaluation on a wrist injury suffered Monday night against the Rangers. He is listed as day-to-day.
Mark Stuart (broken sternum) is on injured reserve. Stuart has been skating the last two days but is still expected to miss another month.
Milan Lucic (high ankle sprain) has been skating with the team for a week now but is still day-to-day.
Senators
Captain Daniel Alfredsson is on injured reserve with a separated shoulder. He has missed the last five games and is expected to be out until early February.
Center Jason Spezza is on injured reserve with torn MCL ligaments in his right knee. He has missed 10 straight games and is expected back in late February.
This Date in Bruins History
On Jan. 5, 1974 John Bucyk scores four goals in a 6-2 win over the Islanders. Bucyk gets his ninth career hat trick and becomes the oldest player, at age 38, to score four goals in a game.
Overheard
“If he’s not back then we’ve lost our best player since beginning of the year. That sums it up right there.”
–Head coach Claude Julien on what would happen if Patrice Bergeron is out long term.
Press Box
Bruins
The Bruins are without their leading scorer as Patrice Bergeron is back in Boston having his wrist evaluated.
Head coach Claude Julien has had enough.
Senators
Former Hab Alex Kovalev is moon-walking in Ottawa lately.
The Senators are getting production from their third line:
NHL
Is the Toronto media finally discovering the Jekyll and Hyde that can be Phil Kessel?
Mario Lemieux is watching his not so “magnifique” Penguins carefully these days.
Outlook
The Bruins have proven that they can bounce back from a loss, but they’re at the halfway point of the season now and it’s time to stop winning a few here and losing a few there.
"These are opportunities that we just can't waste," forward Blake Wheeler said Monday night. "We can't wait and say with 20-something games left, 'OK, let's step on the gas now. That will be good enough.' We've got to start now. Talk is pretty cheap. It's all about going out and doing it. Once we see that on the ice night in and night out, then we can start talking and maybe get our swagger back."
Wheeler is exactly right and the Bruins must come out and answer for a less-than-stellar performance. The time has come to put up or shut up for the Bruins.
