Boston is 1-6-1 in their last eight games and has fallen out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference for the first time since October. Luckily for the Bruins, the Hurricanes are simply a disaster, battling a rash of injuries and falling from grace after making the Eastern Conference finals last season.
Both teams are desperate for a win but the Bruins could use one a lot more as they still have a chance to turn things around.
WHEN AND WHERE
Sunday Jan. 24, 5 p.m. (NESN)
RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
RECORDS
Bruins (23-19-8, 54 points; third place in Northeast Division; ninth place in Eastern Conference)
Hurricanes (15-28-7, 37 points, fifth in Southeast Division, 15th in Eastern Conference)
HEAD TO HEAD
This is the second of four meetings between the Bruins and Hurricanes. Seven different players tallied for the Bruins in a 7-2 win on Oct. 3 at the TD Garden. The two teams meet again March 16 at Carolina and April 10 in Boston, which is also the Bruins' last home game of the regular season.
The Bruins lost to the Hurricanes in seven games in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals last spring.
The Bruins lead the season series 90-63-16-2.
SKINNY
According to Mark Recchi, the team is out of sync right now. A lack of team-wide effort every game can be the cause of this slump.
“We’re getting most guys to do it but right now we need 20 guys,” the veteran forward told CSNNE.com. “Right now it’s not 20 guys and we’re getting the results we are because of that. If we can get 20 guys pushing and pulling together then we’ll get out of this.”
Carolina will have the opportunity to escape last place in the overall standings and pass Edmonton with a win. The Bruins of course want Carolina to relinquish that unwanted spot in the standings and allow the Leafs to fall back into it since they own the Leafs' first round pick. But right now, that’s far less important than a win for Boston.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Bruins
Forwards
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Blake Wheeler
Daniel Paille–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Michael Ryder–Trent Whitfield–Miroslav Satan
Shawn Thornton–Vladimir Sobotka–Drew Larman
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Derek Morris
Mark Stuart–Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick–Johnny Boychuk
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Hurricanes
Forwards
Ray Whitney–Matt Cullen–Eric Staal
Chad LaRose–Brandon Sutter–Jiri Tlusty
Sergei Samsonov–Jussi Jokinen–Patrick Dwyer
Rod Brind'Amour–Stephan Yelle–Tom Kostopoulos
Defensemen
Aaron Ward–Tim Gleason
Niclas Wallin–Andrew Alberts
Joni Pitkanen–Brett Carson
Goaltenders
Cam Ward
Manny Legace
GOALTENDER MATCHUP
Bruins
Tim Thomas is 13-13-6 with a 2.44 GAA and .918 save percentage and four shutouts. Thomas made 21 saves in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa Saturday. The reigning Vezina winner has won his last five regular season starts against Carolina and has allowed just 1.58 goals against in the span.
Tuukka Rask is 10-6-2 with a 2.14 GAA, .926 save percentage. Rask stopped 22-of-25 shots in a 3-2 loss Thursday. He is third in the NHL in GAA and fifth in save percentage. Rask has two shutouts but has lost his last three starts.
Hurricanes
Cam Ward is 10-19-5 with a 2.88 GAA and .908 save percentage. Ward had started 17 consecutive games until Saturday but he ended up playing as Manny Legace had to leave the game due to pink eye swelling his eye shut. Ward stopped 20 shots but took the loss. Ward tied Arturs Irbe's record for wins with 130 in the Canes' 5-2 win Thursday in Atlanta and will have a chance to break against the Bruins.
Manny Legace is 4-5-2 with a 3.10 GAA and .897 save percentage. Legace has not had a decision since a loss on Dec. 12 at Ottawa and not won since Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.
STAT SHEET
Bruins
Patrice Bergeron had an assist Saturday and has two points in the three games he’s played since returning Monday from a two-week stint on the IR. He leads the team in points with 33 (12 goals, 20 assists).
Zdeno Chara assisted on a Bergeron goal Thursday and leads the team in that category with 24. Chara also leads the defense in points with 28.
Daniel Paille scored the Bruins’ lone goal Saturday and has a three-game point streak with two goals and an assist. Paille now has 15 points this season.
Dennis Wideman has been under heavy scrutiny lately and on Saturday he broke a five-game pointless streak with an assist. Wideman now has 12 assists and 15 points.
The Bruins killed off the Senators’ lone power play Saturday and have killed off 27 of the last 30 power plays they have faced. They’ve allowed only 22 goals on 179 power plays faced and are second in the NHL with an 87.7 percent success rate.
The power play was 0-for-1 Saturday and is 0-for-12 over the last seven games. They are 28-for-163 with a 17.2 percent success rate this season.
Hurricanes
Ray Whitney had an assist Saturday and has a four-game point streak going with five points during that span. Whitney has 22 helpers and is tied for the team lead with Eric Staal with 37 points.
Eric Staal scored a goal Saturday, his fourth in his last two games, and now has a four-game point streak going with seven points during that span. Staal has 37 points.
Jussi Jokinen had an assist Saturday and has four points in his last two games. Jokinen has 34 points this season.
Joni Pitkanen leads the team in assists with 24 and the defense in points with 26.
BLACK AND BLUE
Bruins
Marc Savard skated again Saturday and is aiming to return to the lineup Jan. 29 at Buffalo. He has been out of the lineup since Jan. 7 with a partially torn MCL.
Andrew Ference is out for at least four more weeks with an injured groin.
Steve Begin will miss his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.
Byron Bitz skated Saturday but will miss his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.
Marco Sturm will miss his fifth consecutive game tonight with a leg injury.
Hurricanes
Tuomo Ruutu (upper body) is day-to-day.
Bruins fan favorite Scott Walker (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Jan. 1 and underwent shoulder surgery Jan. 5. He'll miss four to six weeks.
Erik Cole (upper body) is day-to-day.
Joe Corvo (leg) is on injured reserve and is expected to miss 2-3 months.
THIS DAY IN BRUINS HISTORY
On January 24, 1991 Ray Bourque had two assists in a 3-0 win over the Hartford Whalers, to pass Bobby Orr and become Boston's all-time leading scorer among defensemen. Orr had scored 888 points in 631 career games with Boston. Andy Moog got his 11th career shutout.
OVERHEARD
"The effort is there, but it doesn't seem like we're having any emotion right now. One thing we're not doing is hitting. I know from the past that this team is all about intimidation and hitting. Right now, we're not really playing that way. I think it's something that we need to do and show a little bit more emotion."
–Daniel Paille on the Bruins needing to be more physical and feeding off it.
PRESS BOX
Bruins
Is the Bruins' dressing room divided?
There is no united sense of urgency with this Bruins team right now.
Zach Hamill hasn’t made the expected progress in the AHL.
Hurricanes
The Hurricanes suffered their fourth straight loss to the Flyers Saturday.
The Canes switched captains this past week.
The Hurricanes have reportedly asked leading scorer Ray Whitney to waive his no-trade clause.
NHL
NESN's Mike Milbury and the HNIC crew address the hot rumors on the Hot Stove.
More Sunday trade rumors for you.
Why not make trades before the trade deadline asks Leafs GM Brian Burke.
OUTLOOK
Hard to predict what we may see out of this Bruins team on Sunday. On paper, they should have no problem with the league’s worst team, but right now the Bruins are probably hurting more than the Hurricanes. Carolina’s season is essentially a wash right now but the Bruins are still alive. The problem is, they’re slipping and the pressure to stop this slide is mounting.
Just as Saturday was a gut-check, a must-win, or whatever kind of game you may call it, Sunday is one as well — possibly even more so. The Bruins need to come out with a physical presence and sense of urgency and maintain it throughout the game or it will be a long four days of practice ahead before their next game in Buffalo Friday.
