The Bruins are coming off a tough 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in a game the B’s never led.
Earning even a point in New Jersey would be an accomplishment for the Bruins, and they'll need to rely on their top line of Marco Sturm, Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi as they search for holes in Martin Brodeur’s armor.
WHEN AND WHERE
Monday, March 15, 7 p.m. (NESN)
Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
RECORDS
Bruins (30-25-12, 72 points, fourth place in Northeast Division, eighth place in Eastern Conference)
Devils (40-24-3, 83 points, second place in Atlantic Division, fourth place in Eastern Conference)
HEAD TO HEAD
This is the third of four meetings between the Bruins and Devils. The Bruins are 0-1-1 against New Jersey this season. Both of those games were played at the TD Garden, with the Devils winning both contests by a score of 2-1. The Devils won the most recent game in a shootout on Nov. 27 and also defeated the Bruins on Oct. 29. The Bruins play the Devils again on March 30 in the final meeting of the regular season between the two clubs.
The Bruins lead the lifetime series 63-35-19-9.
SKINNY
Since Marc Savard’s injury, the Bruins' top line, led by Patrice Bergeron, has played very well. They have accounted for six goals in the three games since Savard went down. Bergeron, Recchi and Sturm have each scored two goals over that stretch. This line will need to play well against the Devils if the Bruins hope to come away with some points against Martin Brodeur and company.
The Bruins currently hold a one-point lead over the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston cannot plan on beating only the bad teams to make the playoffs. They need to get points against the likes of the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils are coming off a terrible loss to the New York Islanders, in a game where the team was criticized for its effort level. Expect a hungry New Jersey Devils team Monday night.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Bruins
Forwards
Marco Sturm–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler–David Krejci–Michael Ryder
Milan Lucic–Vladimir Sobotka–Miroslav Satan
Daniel Paille–Steve Begin–Shawn Thornton
Defensemen
Zdeno Chara–Dennis Seidenberg
Mark Stuart–Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick–Johnny Boychuk
Goaltenders
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Devils
Forwards
Zach Parise–Travis Zajac–Dainius Zubrus
Ilya Kovalchuk–Patrik Elias–Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston–Rob Niedermayer–David Clarkson
Jay Pandolfo–Dean McAmmond–Rod Pelley
Defense
Bryce Salvador–Andy Greene
Colin White–Mike Mottau
Mark Frasier/Anssi Salmela–Martin Skoula
Goalies
Martin Brodeur
Yann Danis
GOALTENDER MATCHUP
Bruins
Tuukka Rask is 15-9-4 with an NHL-best 2.14 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Rask has started the last two games since returning from injury, allowing a total of four goals. Rask has three shutouts on the season.
Tim Thomas is 15-16-8 with a 2.51 GAA and a .916 save percentage. After Rask injured his knee, Thomas started four consecutive games, helping the Bruins to a 2-1-1 record over that span. Thomas has four shutouts this season.
Devils
Martin Brodeur is 37-22-3 with a 2.36 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Brodeur’s last outing came on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, stopping 34 of Pittsburgh’s 35 shots in a 3-1 win. Brodeur is tied for second in the NHL with seven shutouts.
Yann Danis is 3-2-0 with a 2.20 GAA and a .920 save percentage in limited action. Danis was in net for the Devils' most recent game, a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders.
STAT SHEET
Bruins
Milan Lucic had a goal on Saturday and now has seven on the season, including two in the past five games.
Blake Wheeler had a goal on Saturday, giving him 16 on the season. Wheeler now has 35 points on the season.
David Krejci had an assist on Saturday, giving him 36 points on the season.
Michael Ryder had an assist on Saturday to total 27 helpers on the season.
Vladimir Sobotka had an assist on Saturday, his first point since a goal on Dec. 23 against the Atlanta Thrashers.
Patrice Bergeron has five points in the last three games and leads the Bruins with 43 points.
Mark Recchi has four points in the last three games.
Marco Sturm has five points in the last four games, giving him 35 for the season.
The Bruins went 0-for-3 on the power play Saturday and are now 40-for-218 with an 18.3 percent success rate, good for 14th in the NHL.
The Bruins killed off one of the three Canadien power plays on Saturday. The Bruins have only allowed 33 goals on 231 power plays against and are ranked third in the NHL in penalty kills at 85.7 percent.
The Bruins are still the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, averaging 2.37 goals per game.
Devils
Zach Parise leads the Devils in goals (31) and points (67), and is third on the team in assists (36). Parise has not registered a point in three of the Devils’ last four games.
Jamie Langenbrunner leads New Jersey with 40 assists.
Travis Zajac is the Devils’ second leading scorer with 21 goals and 58 points.
Ilya Kovalchuk has five goals and seven assists in 12 games with the Devils.
Martin Brodeur is tied for the NHL lead with 37 wins.
Andy Greene leads the Devils' blue line in assists (24) and points (30). Greene has four points in the Devils last three games.
The Devils are averaging only 2.56 goals per game, but are tied for the league lead with a 2.36 GAA.
BLACK AND BLUE
Bruins
Mark Savard could miss the remainder of the season with a concussion.
Miroslav Satan is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Devils
Defenseman Paul Martin, out since October 24 with a broken left arm, is expected to return in about one week.
THIS DATE IN BRUINS HISTORY
Bobby Orr had many great days in a Bruins sweater, but this one was noteworthy from a statistical standpoint. On March 15, 1969, Orr picks up his 60th point of the season, establishing a new single-season record for points by a defenseman. (The following season Orr would obliterate this record.)
One calendar year later, on March 15, 1970, Orr becomes the first player in NHL history to accumulate 100 points and 100 penalty minutes in the same season, when his two goals and two assists gave him 100 points for the year (along with 117 PIM). The milestone comes in a 5-5 tie against the Detroit Red Wings.
OVERHEARD
“We realize the importance of this game and you can’t hang your head after a thing like that (Montreal’s third goal). You’ve got to keep battling, and we battled.”
–Bruins coach Claude Julien, on Saturday’s loss
PRESS BOX
Bruins
On Saturday the Bruins fell 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens.
Tuuka Rask blamed himself for the loss on Saturday.
Devils
New Jersey showed poor effort in a 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday.
In Lou We Trust has a weekly recap of the New Jersey Devils and the Atlantic Division.
NHL
Alexander Ovechkin was given a game misconduct in the first period of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
NHL general managers recommend a ban on blindside hits.
OUTLOOK
Like the Bruins, the Devils have had difficulty scoring goals this season. The Bruins can probably get away with two or three goals on Monday night, but even that is easier said than done. The Bruins will need to apply continuous pressure if they hope to slip a few past Martin Brodeur.
On the whole, the Bruins have been solid since the Olympic break, going 3-3-1. The Bruins will need more than “a good effort” if they hope to leave New Jersey with a point.
